Aston Villa and Leicester City have narrowly avoided Premier League points deductions after navigating complex financial regulations.
How Aston Villa escape Premier League points deductions
The June 30 deadline for balancing accounts loomed large as a crucial moment for clubs in the Premier League looking to stay in line with profit and sustainability rules.
For Aston Villa, this date marked the end of the 2023-24 season and their last opportunity to balance their finances before potentially breaching the £105m limit over three years.
In order to avoid punishment, Villa needed to offload a player before the deadline, which ultimately led to Douglas Luiz’s transfer to Juventus for £50m.
Despite spending £136.6m on new signings, Unai Emery’s side managed to sell £143.5m worth of players.
However, it was the sale of Douglas Luiz that helped the club adhere to the PSR regulations and avoid any financial penalties.
Aston Villa sold Douglas Luiz to Juventus for £42million at the “last second” to avoid a 10-point penalty for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
How Leicester City escape EPL points deductions
Leicester City, on the other hand, successfully argued against a points deduction for breaching PSR loss limits last season.
The club successfully argued that they should not be charged for an alleged breach of the league’s profitability and sustainability rules in the 2022-23 season, as they were no longer in the Premier League when the accounting period ended in June 2023.
Consequently, the 2023/24 Championship winners will not face any punishment.
The Foxes were initially charged in March, while they were still in the Championship, and have effectively won their case after an independent commission agreed with the club’s defence that the rules did not permit it.
After Leicester’s appeal, the independent commission on Tuesday, September 3 ruled that there was no jurisdiction for the case to be heard and now Leicester will not be facing any sanctions.
However, the Premier League, expressed “surprise and disappointment” at the panel’s decision and may consider appealing.
Furthermore, Leicester City also avoided further charges for the 2023-24 season after selling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea and receiving compensation for manager Enzo Maresca before the June 30 deadline.
Note that the Foxes drew one and lost two league games since their return to the Premier League.
Other EPL clubs that could face points deductions/ punishment
Manchester City are denying 115 allegations made against them in February 2023, with a commission case scheduled to start in October or November. However, a final decision is not expected until March or April 2025.
Also, Chelsea have been fined £8.6m by UEFA for illicit payments made to agents and others during the Roman Abramovich era. Despite an ongoing investigation, they have yet to be formally charged by the Premier League.
Everton are facing the possibility of violating Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) once again and is under pressure to secure funds and maintain financial stability.
They were handed a 10-point deduction for breaching Premier League rules in the 2021-22 season but the deduction was reduced to six points after an appeal.
Further breaches led to an additional two-point deduction in the 2023-24 season, which was later appealed but ultimately withdrawn after Everton secured their Premier League survival.
However, failure to rectify their financial situation could result in another charge and an automatic nine-point deduction for the 2024/25 season.
Leicester have only managed to secure one draw and suffered two losses since their promotion back to the Premier League. Do you believe the Foxes can avoid relegation this season? Share your thoughts on the points deductions in the Premier League by commenting below.
