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Premier League clubs do not face one automatic punishment for breaking financial rules. For PSR breaches covering seasons through 2025/26, an independent Commission could impose a fine, points deduction or another sporting sanction. From 2026/27, the replacement SCR and SSR rules provide for levies, points deductions and corrective measures, depending on the breach.
What could a club face for a PSR breach?
The Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) applied through the 2025/26 season. The League says an independent Commission could impose a fine, a points deduction or another sporting sanction. The Commission decides the outcome in each case; there is no single published points tariff that applies to every PSR breach.
Proceedings are heard in private, although the Commission’s final decision is published. A club can appeal under the League’s disciplinary rules. The Appeal Board may dismiss or allow an appeal, vary the Commission’s order or make another order.
How did the PSR loss threshold work?
Under the historical PSR framework, the League assessed clubs annually using adjusted earnings before tax over the relevant period. The calculation began with profit or loss after depreciation and interest but before tax, then applied permitted add-backs. The League’s 2024 explanation listed spending on infrastructure, community programmes, women’s football and youth development, as well as depreciation of tangible fixed assets, among its examples.
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The usual threshold was losses of £105 million over the relevant assessment period. It was reduced by £22 million for each season in that period in which a club had been in the Championship. These figures describe the historical PSR framework, not the rules introduced for 2026/27.
Ordinarily, the calculation covered three seasons. For the cited pandemic-era assessments, the 2019/20 and 2020/21 figures were averaged; the League also said COVID-19 costs could exceptionally be added back for 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22. The period matters: a threshold should be tied to the seasons being assessed rather than treated as a timeless annual limit.
What happened in recent PSR cases?
| Club and period | Status and sanction | Appeal outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Everton, period ending 2021/22 | The club admitted a PSR breach. The Commission initially imposed a 10-point deduction. | On appeal, the sanction was reduced to an immediate six-point deduction. The appeal concerned the sanction, not whether a breach occurred. |
| Nottingham Forest, assessment period ending 2022/23 | The club admitted a PSR breach. The Commission imposed a four-point deduction. | The Appeal Board rejected the club’s grounds and upheld the deduction. |
| Leicester City, 2022/23 assessment period | The League’s 21 March 2024 announcement referred an alleged PSR breach and failure to submit audited accounts. A referral is not a finding or a penalty. | That announcement gives no appeal outcome or later decision. |
The Everton and Forest outcomes show that the sanction can vary and that an appeal can change it. Neither case establishes an automatic deduction for a future breach.
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What replaces PSR from 2026/27?
Premier League clubs voted in November 2025 to replace PSR with Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) and Sustainability and Systemic Resilience (SSR). The League’s 21 July 2026 explainer says the new rules took full effect at the start of 2026/27. It also says the League retains enforcement powers for PSR breaches in seasons up to and including 2025/26, so the change does not erase possible proceedings over earlier periods.
SCR: a levy or points deduction
The League describes an 85% Green Threshold and a higher Red Threshold, alongside a multi-year allowance. Under the summary of the rules, a club exceeding the Green Threshold but staying below the Red Threshold under the applicable tests may owe a levy, without a sporting sanction under that threshold outcome. The levy is calculated using the lower of the projected in-season overspend and post-season actual overspend, multiplied by the percentage overspend above 85%.
A club that exceeds the Red Threshold faces a points deduction under the SCR formula described by the League: a fixed six points, plus one point for every £6.5 million spent above that threshold. The League says points sanctions are imposed in the season of breach, while levies become payable for breaches from 2027/28 onward. These are summaries of the framework in the July 2026 explainer; clubs’ outcomes depend on the applicable tests and operative rules.
SSR: compliance plans and possible intervention
SSR assesses working capital, liquidity and positive equity. If a club fails a relevant test, it must explain in a business plan how it will return to compliance. If the League’s Board does not accept the plan, it may impose measures such as requiring approval before new contracts are registered, setting a spending limit or using its disciplinary powers. The framework is designed to monitor financial resilience and require a route back to compliance, with stronger intervention available where needed.
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Associated Party Transaction (APT) and Fair Market Value (FMV) rules are controls on how certain transactions affect a club’s reported finances. A club must submit an APT to the Board for an FMV assessment. Some large transactions with parties that are not associated must also be submitted so the Board can determine whether they are APTs or were conducted at arm’s length.
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If the Board finds an APT was not at FMV, it may require the club to restate or vary the transaction to reflect FMV. The League’s 5 September 2025 summary describes assessment and correction powers; it does not describe an automatic points penalty for an APT/FMV finding.
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