Leicester City have been deducted six points after being found to have breached the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability Regulations for the 2023/24 season.
The independent panel recommended the sanction, which was approved by the EFL board on Thursday, and Leicester fall from 17th to 20th place, with only goal difference keeping them out of the Championship relegation zone.
The Foxes are currently without a manager, having fired Marti Cifuentes last month.
The committee was appointed under Premier League rules in May last year after an arbitration tribunal ruled that jurisdiction to investigate alleged breaches of EFL rules could be transferred to the Premier League after the Foxes were promoted to the top flight in 2024.
The committee determined that the club had exceeded the relevant P&S threshold by £20.8m during the three-year assessment period up to the 2023/24 season.
The Foxes were also found by the committee to have breached Premier League rules by failing to submit annual accounts to the league as required by the league.
Leicester said in a statement: “It is disappointing that Leicester City has accepted the independent committee’s decision and the club will take time to consider its next steps.”
The club said the point deduction recommended by the committee “remains disproportionate” and “does not adequately reflect the mitigating factors on offer, the importance of which cannot be overstated given the potential impact on our sporting ambitions this season.”
The Foxes have avoided penalty points related to alleged breaches of the top flight’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) for the 2022/23 season after Leicester’s appeal was upheld in September 2024.
In that case, the appeals panel found that the independent panel appointed under Premier League rules did not have jurisdiction over the club as it ruled that the 2022/23 accounting period ended one month and two days after the club was relegated from the top flight.
In the latest case, the Premier League initially recommended that the EFL’s sanction guidelines should apply to Leicester as usual, which would result in a 12-point deduction.
It then presented an adjusted methodology in which 12 points would be awarded if the total accounting period for the three seasons was found to be 37 months, and 8 points if it was 36 months.
The Commission determined that the applicable assessment period in this case was 36 months.
The Premier League’s second alternative recommendation for sanctions would follow the methodology adopted in Everton’s second PSR case, with a starting point for a seven-point deduction based on a 36-month evaluation period.
“The nightmare season just keeps getting worse.”
Sky Sports EFL Editor Simeon Gollum:
A nightmare season continues for Leicester City. Point deductions were always to be expected, but it gets even worse when they have such a poor record, reaching their lowest point, and without a coach.
On this day 10 years ago, they staggered back to the top of the Premier League and never relinquished their position as they chased the title.
How the situation will change is that this point deduction will drop them to 20th place in the Championship, above the relegation zone only on goal difference.
This team has talent but lacks any confidence or cohesion at the moment. This certainly doesn’t solve the problem.
Andy King, a club legend and one of the men who lifted that trophy on that halcyon day 10 years ago, will lead his side once again as caretaker manager in their trip to Birmingham City on Saturday, fresh off his debut in a 2-0 defeat at home to Charlton.
If they don’t win against St Andrews, they could fall to the bottom three, although that seems unlikely. This was the lowest level since 2008.
Initially, it took them seven years to go from League One to Premier League champions. Unless we reverse the current slide, it could have taken just 10 hours to go the other way.
