Nottingham Forest will begin the appeal process to the Premier League charging the club with violations of financial fair play. Currently, there is no punishment that Forest knows of, but the precedent has been set via Everton. Originally, the Premier League brandished a record-breaking 10-point deduction for the Toffees. On Monday, the Premier League lessened that penalty to six points. Therefore, the potential for a points deduction is palpable, and it would be massively consequential for Nottingham Forest.
According to John Percy of The Telegraph, Forest will appear before an independent commission, where the case will be resolved. This includes any further chance at appeals. For reference. Everton’s appeal that lowered the points deduction to six was an appeal of the penalty, not the facts that warranted charges. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, is appealing against the violations of profitability and sustainability rules.
The entire case will be resolved by April 15. That is the deadline for any points penalty that Nottingham Forest will suffer from. Initially, there were concerns that the points penalty would come into effect after the season. Therefore, clubs may suffer relegation after they have played their 38 league games. Nottingham Forest is firmly in the relegation scrap at this point in the season. For example, Forest sits 17th in the table. There are just four points of separation between Forest and 18th-place Luton Town. The prospect of a points deduction makes the possibility of relegation more applicable.
Does Everton set a precedent for Forest?
Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol said the impending financial fair play charges could use Everton’s now-six-point deduction as their example to look to. In other words, the Premier League and an independent commission may see any breaches of profitability and sustainability rules as an automatic six-point penalty. Across the table, that has major consequences.
If that happens to Nottingham Forest, it will automatically plunge into the relegation zone. Moreover, Luton Town has a game in hand on Nottingham Forest. Even if the points penalty is half of what Everton is suffering from, Nottingham may still find itself in the relegation zone as a result of its financial fair play breaches.
The verdict date of April 15 is significant. If the case does need the maximum allotted time, Nottingham Forest would only have five league games to salvage its season. That includes games against relegation candidates Everton, Sheffield United and Burnley, and each of those three games is on the road. If the Blades and Burnley can find form, those games could be massive in the relegation decision as the season winds down.
Deciding factors in Nottingham Forest appeal
There are several key points to whether Nottingham Forest can win its appeal. The club points to the sale of Brennan Johnson to offset its massive spending since returning to the top flight. Premier League rules state no club can lose $134 combined million over three seasons. In its return to the division, Nottingham Forest reported net transfer losses of $250 million over two years. Forest says it stayed within the league’s parameters after selling Johnson to Tottenham for $60 million in the summer of 2023.
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