Financially frazzled: What’s happening with Everton and Nottingham Forest?

Everton and Nottingham Forest are both currently being investigated for breaching the Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) which allow teams to lose up to £105 million over a three-year cycle; the final result of the case will be announced in late May.

The story begins in December 2023 when all teams turned over their accounts to the Premier League to check whether any monetary rules had been broken. All teams except for Forest had a margin of £105 million – as the team had only spent two years in the Premier League, they were only allowed to lose up to £61 million. There will be two separate investigations (independent of the Premier League) for each team.

Both teams can be punished through fines, point deductions, or other means

Starting with Forest’s case, the team had signed many players for a better chance to keep their position in the country’s top league, however, it hasn’t worked out in their favour – the team are currently fifteenth in the table. The team will most probably try to work something out having said that they “intend to cooperate fully with the Premier League… [in order for] a speedy and fair resolution”.

The case of Everton is much more difficult to make sense of as they are currently already appealing a points deduction for breaching the previous three-year cycle – Sky Sports suggests that it is like being punished for the same act twice. The cycles overlap slightly, which is why the team is being charged twice. The team had already lost 10 points in November, the biggest points deduction in Premier League history.

Manchester City and Chelsea are also alleged to have breached various Premier League financial rules

Both teams can be punished through fines, point deductions, or other means. A decision on the punishment will be made by early April after which the teams will have seven days to appeal the decision if they want. If they do appeal, the final decision will be announced on 24 May which is after the 2023/24 season ends. This means that if a final decision consists of a points deduction for either team, they could be relegated during the off-season break – which is why a fine might be the best outcome.

Manchester City and Chelsea are also alleged to have breached various Premier League financial rules, however, their investigations differ for a few separate reasons. Firstly, Man City outright deny breaching any rules which means that their case will be handled differently. Regarding Chelsea, the team have spent much money, yet they have also sold many players so their accounts may still be changing and updating; when both teams submitted their most recent accounts in December, they met all regulations and so they will not be investigated in the same way as Everton or Nottingham Forrest.

Until the decisions are announced, both teams will continue playing as usual – or perhaps even with a bit more venom and pride as they seek to build up a relegation-proof points buffer safeguarding against the worst-case scenario of a points deduction. Having already had one such penalty handed down to them, Everton in particular will be all too aware of what’s at stake.