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A financial-rules breach does not trigger an automatic, fixed points deduction or expulsion. Under the Premier League’s former Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), an independent Commission decided whether a breach occurred and what sanction to impose; an appeal could change that outcome. For the 2026/27 season, PSR has been replaced by Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) and Sustainability and Systemic Resilience (SSR), while earlier PSR periods remain subject to enforcement.
What happens when a club is suspected of breaking the rules?
The process depends on the rule set and the assessment period. In a PSR case, the Premier League Board could investigate a suspected or alleged breach and refer it to an independent Commission. The Commission decided whether the club had breached the rules and, if so, what sanction was appropriate. A club could challenge a Commission decision through the applicable appeal process.
- Investigation and referral: the League Board investigates a suspected or alleged breach and may refer the matter to a Commission.
- Commission decision: the independent Commission considers the case, determines whether a breach occurred and sets any sanction. PSR proceedings were held privately, although the final Commission decision was published.
- Appeal: a party may challenge a Commission decision under Section W. An independent Appeal Board may dismiss or allow the appeal, or make an order it considers appropriate, including changing the sanction.
The League’s published range of possible sanctions includes fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions. It does not set out one universal points tariff for every breach. The examples below should not be treated as a points-per-pound formula.
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What did the former PSR threshold mean?
For a PSR assessment, the Premier League considered a club’s aggregate Adjusted Earnings Before Tax over the relevant assessment period. The League’s published explanation stated a maximum threshold of £105 million, reduced by £22 million for each season the club spent in the Championship during that period. A club’s history in the Championship could therefore make its applicable threshold lower than £105 million.
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That distinction mattered in Nottingham Forest’s case: because Forest had spent two seasons of the relevant period in the Championship, its applicable threshold was £61 million, not £105 million. The League said the club exceeded that threshold by £34.5 million.
What do the main cases show?
These decisions illustrate different routes through the process; they are not a statistical sample and do not establish a typical penalty or appeal success rate.
| Club and assessment period | What was decided | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Everton, period ending 2021/22 | Everton admitted a PSR breach. It appealed the sanction, not the existence of the admitted breach. | The Commission initially imposed 10 points. The Appeal Board upheld two of Everton’s nine grounds and substituted a six-point deduction. |
| Nottingham Forest, period ending 2022/23 | Forest admitted exceeding its £61 million threshold by £34.5 million. The Premier League said its Championship history reduced the applicable threshold. | An independent Commission imposed an immediate four-point deduction after an expedited hearing. |
| Everton, period ending 2022/23 | This was a separate PSR case from Everton’s earlier assessment period. Everton admitted the breach. | The Commission imposed two points. Everton withdrew its appeal, confirming the sanction. |
| Leicester, alleged Premier League PSR breach for 2022/23 | The Commission rejected Leicester’s jurisdiction challenge, but the Appeal Board later upheld Leicester’s appeal. The League said it could not take action for exceeding the threshold in the relevant periods. | No Premier League PSR sanction followed for that alleged period. |
| Leicester, EFL P&S breach for 2023/24 | This was a later EFL Profitability and Sustainability (P&S) case, not a new Premier League PSR breach. A Commission recommended a six-point deduction, and promoted-club rules brought the matter into the Premier League process. | The Appeal Board upheld the six-point recommendation in April 2026. |
Everton’s six-point and two-point outcomes belong to separate assessment periods and separate proceedings. The first case also shows that an appeal about a sanction can reduce the penalty without overturning an admitted breach. Leicester’s earlier appeal, by contrast, turned on jurisdiction and timing rather than producing a Premier League PSR sanction on the merits.
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Can a club appeal a points deduction?
Yes. A club can challenge a Commission decision through the applicable appeal route, but an appeal is not a guarantee that the breach or penalty will be overturned. Everton’s first case shows an appeal changing the sanction while leaving the admitted breach intact; Leicester’s earlier case shows that an appeal can instead succeed on jurisdiction.
The available decisions do not establish that an appeal automatically suspends a deduction or guarantees a decision before a particular match. The League adopted Standard Directions for certain PSR cases to seek resolution during the complaint season and before the subsequent AGM. Leicester’s earlier case followed a different timetable because the club had been relegated before those directions came into force.
Can a club be expelled?
The Premier League says that, in extreme cases involving serious Rule Book breaches, expulsion is possible; it also says expulsion has never occurred in the League’s history. That is a broad statement about serious Rule Book breaches, not evidence that a financial-rules breach automatically leads to expulsion or makes it a likely outcome. The stated PSR sanction range includes fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions.
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What rules apply from 2026/27?
From the 2026/27 season, the Premier League uses Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) and Sustainability and Systemic Resilience (SSR) instead of PSR. The League says its powers to begin or continue enforcement for PSR breaches relating to periods ending in 2025/26 or earlier are preserved. So a case about an earlier PSR period remains a legacy PSR matter even though the current framework has changed.
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Squad Cost Ratio (SCR)
SCR focuses on on-pitch spending. Its green threshold is 85% of football-related revenue plus net profit or loss on player sales. Clubs also receive a multi-year allowance that establishes a higher red threshold; the League’s 2026/27 explanation describes an initial allowance of up to 30% above green. Under the rule mechanics, a club that exceeds green but remains below red through the applicable tests can face a levy, while crossing red can result in a sporting sanction. SCR includes in-season monitoring.
Sustainability and Systemic Resilience (SSR)
SSR assesses liquidity, future financial information and equity. A club found non-compliant must show how it will return to compliance through a business plan. If the plan is not satisfactory, the Board may impose defined measures, including approval requirements for registering new contracts, spending limits or disciplinary powers under Rule W.3.
Quick Recap
How to understand a reported breach
- Check the assessment period and rule set. PSR applies to legacy periods ending in 2025/26 or earlier; SCR and SSR apply from 2026/27.
- Check the club’s status during the period. Championship seasons can affect a PSR threshold, and a club’s league status can affect jurisdiction.
- Separate what was admitted from what was disputed. A club may admit a breach but challenge the calculation or sanction, or it may challenge whether the League had jurisdiction.
- Distinguish the initial decision from the final result. An appeal can uphold, vary or otherwise alter a Commission decision.
- Identify the type of sanction. A fine, points deduction or other sporting measure is distinct from expulsion, which the League describes as an extreme possibility and says has never occurred.
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