Leicester City could face fresh uncertainty over a potential points deduction as the Premier League is expected to appeal the latest ruling in the club’s profit and sustainability (PSR) case.
Finance expert Stefan Borson has told Football Insider that the Premier League is facing an “enormously high hurdle” in its attempt to overturn the recent decision in Leicester’s favour.
Leicester were initially charged in March 2023 with breaching the PSR rules for the 2022-23 season, having reported losses of £89.7 million for that financial year.
The Premier League’s regulations allow clubs to post a maximum loss of £105 million over a rolling three-year period.
However, Leicester argued that, by the time they submitted their accounts on 30 June, they were no longer a Premier League side following their relegation to the Championship.
In July, an independent commission rejected Leicester’s claims, ruling that the club could still be held accountable under the league’s PSR rules despite their demotion.
However, in a significant development on 3 September, Leicester announced that their appeal against that decision had been successful, sparing them the immediate threat of a points deduction.
Now, reports from The Lawyer on 16 October suggest that the Premier League is preparing to challenge the appeal’s outcome, potentially reopening the case.
Premier League Launches Appeal:
Speaking to Football Insider, Borson speculated that the Premier League is likely pursuing the appeal.
“I think they probably have appealed. It’s an odd story to come out if it isn’t true. It is something I heard on the grapevine about two weeks ago,” he said.
Borson highlighted the difficulties the Premier League faces in overturning the appeal board’s ruling, which was handled by a panel that included two former Court of Appeal judges.
“The appeal board decided in Leicester’s favour. To challenge that, the Premier League has to go through arbitration, referred to as a Rule X arbitration.”
He explained the limited grounds available to the Premier League for mounting an appeal. “You can’t just say, ‘We don’t like the decision, so we’re challenging it.’ There is no inherent right to appeal an appeal board’s decision.
“There are only a few grounds for challenge. The Premier League would need to claim that either the appeal board acted fraudulently, which obviously isn’t the case, or that they acted in bad faith, which is also unlikely.”
Borson added: “The most plausible challenge would be that the law was misapplied, but that’s difficult to argue when you’ve got a panel of three highly qualified judges hearing arguments from top barristers. It’s unlikely they all got it wrong.”
The Premier League’s final option, Borson noted, is to argue that the appeal board’s decision was irrational.
“They’d have to prove that no reasonable panel could have reached the conclusion they did based on the evidence presented. But that’s an enormously high hurdle to clear.”
Uncertainty Looms:
If the Premier League’s appeal proceeds, Leicester could once again find themselves at risk of a points deduction. While the appeal board’s decision was a welcome relief for the club, this legal wrangling could prolong the uncertainty surrounding their season.
With the stakes so high, the outcome of any potential arbitration will be closely watched, as Leicester look to move past the issue and focus on their campaign in the Championship.