Leicester have been hit with a six-point deduction for breaking spending rules, leaving them above the relegation zone in the Championship on goal difference alone.
The penalty – recommended by an independent commission – relates to the 2023-24 season, when Leicester were promoted to the Premier League but were deemed to have breached profitability and sustainability regulations (PSR). It will apply with immediate effect.
Premier League champions 10 years ago, Leicester believed at one stage that chiefs were pushing for a penalty as heavy as 20 points, which would have left them 14 points adrift of safety. Leicester have the right to appeal and are weighing up whether to do so.
There are those within Leicester’s legal team who believe the governing bodies do not have the jurisdiction to issue punishments for offences committed two years ago. Naturally, the Premier League and the EFL believe otherwise.
It is not guaranteed that Leicester will appeal. There are some at the club who believe they should accept the verdict and move on, rather than have it continue to linger in the background.
Yet if they do appeal, it risks placing the Championship season into chaos. Any appeal could stretch beyond the end of the season, meaning that even after the final games, clubs could be unaware of which division they will compete in for the 2026-27 season.
Leicester City now sit outside the Championship relegation zone only on goal difference
A Premier League statement read: ‘The Commission found that the club’s refusal to provide its annual accounts to the Premier League by the relevant deadline was a breach of Premier League Rules.
‘It also dismissed a claim by the club that it had demonstrated exceptional cooperation throughout the proceedings.
‘Following agreement by the parties, and consistent with the relevant guidelines, the Commission agreed that the club’s improving financial position over the relevant assessment period was a mitigating factor.’
The blow is the latest in a series of setbacks for Leicester in recent years. The club’s owners, King Power, have been targeted by increasingly angry supporters for their stewardship of the Foxes.
A decade ago, Leicester lifted the Premier League title – one of the most memorable stories in the history of the English game.
It is hard for supporters to swallow that, as they approach the anniversary of that joyous day, their club could be heading into the third tier of English football.
Leicester recently sacked boss Marti Cifuentes, giving the reins to title winner Andy King while they look for a permanent replacement.
Five years after that title win, Leicester won the FA Cup under Brendan Rodgers and were long an inspiration for clubs who wanted to challenge England’s wealthiest.
Leicester were 17th in the Championship but now move down to 20th in this updated table
Yet their failure to qualify for the Champions League in 2020 and 2021, coupled with the decision to sell no senior player in summer 2021, started the downward spiral.
As well as chairman Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha, the finger of blame will also be pointed at beleaguered director of football Jon Rudkin, who has made a series of questionable decisions in the transfer market. On Saturday they travel to Birmingham, a club who believe they are on the up and who will seek to compound Leicester’s misery.
