Brentford boss Thomas Frank has made it clear he wants a process that could see Nottingham Forest and Everton deduct points from their relegation battles with the Bees for breaching financial rules.
Everton have already had their ten-point deduction reduced to six points this season following a complaint, and could face further sanctions for failing to meet profit and sustainability guidelines last season. Forest could also lose points when the hearing takes place later this month.
Any points deductions could have a significant impact on the fight for relegation from the Premier League, as Brentford are five points clear of the relegation zone in 16th place, while they are sandwiched between Forest and Everton in the standings.
“For me, it’s very simple: if you break the rules, you should be punished – end of discussion,” Frank said on Friday.
“This is the society we live in, this is the football world we live in – boom. How much or how little? There are a lot smarter guys than me. Fortunately they’re looking after it and they should know what the sanction should be.
“If it’s two points, six points, ten points, 20 points, I don’t care – it’s their business. I’m here to try to coach the football team and try to win a few more games.
“The only thing I would say is that Nottingham [Forest] and Everton, according to what you have read, will get a points deduction in the near future. They will appeal and we will have to find out the result of the appeal before the end of the season, for all concerned, especially for Nottingham and Everton.”
Meanwhile, the Bees will be away to Chelsea on Saturday and hope to end a period of difficult form. But Frank will have to shuffle his ranks after Ben Mee suffered a season-ending ankle fracture in Monday’s 4-2 defeat at West Ham.
“More negative news,” he said, speaking about the squad’s fitness. “It’s easier to continue on this path. Unfortunately Ben Mee got injured and is out for the rest of the season, so only our entire back four from last season is out.”
Frank added: “We had too many injuries, we had a lot of bad luck. We have had more than ten operations this season. Usually we have two or three.”