- Premier League to rewrite rules after legal defeat
- Leicester avoided punishment for overspending by £20 million
- This ruling revealed a loophole in the Premier League’s rules, which other clubs could use to avoid penalties
Premier League to rewrite rules after legal defeat
The Premier League is urgently reviewing its profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) after Leicester City successfully challenged them.
Leicester avoided punishment for overspending by £20 million. Their lawyers argued that the club wasn’t bound by the rules because their accounts were finalised after their 2023 relegation.
This ruling revealed a loophole in the Premier League’s rules, which other clubs could use to avoid penalties like those given to Everton and Nottingham Forest.
The Premier League expressed disappointment, saying the decision didn’t consider the intent of the rules. This setback weakens the league’s ability to enforce spending regulations, especially as it faces ongoing legal battles with Manchester City and Chelsea.
Sports lawyer Simon Leaf, a partner at Mishcon de Reya in London, told City A.M.: “The decision of the Appeal Board will come as a significant and indeed embarrassing blow to the Premier League and its Rule Book.
“Leicester and the club’s legal team have exploited a significant lacuna in the PSRs, which effectively confirms that relegated clubs that have a financial year that ends in June have a free pass when it comes to complying with the PSRs.
“For three extremely senior lawyers to all agree that the PSRs ‘would seem to have been drafted without taking [some of the other Premier League Rules] into account’ demonstrates that urgent action will need to be taken to plug this gap.”