Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game, during the English Premier League soccer match between Luton Town and Nottingham Forest, at Kenilworth Road, in Luton, England, Saturday March 16, 2024. (Kieran Cleeves/PA via AP)
LONDON (AP) – Nottingham Forest was handed a four-point deduction on Monday for overspending, dropping the team into the Premier League’s relegation zone with two months left in the season.
Forest was found to have breached the league’s profitability and sustainability regulations, which typically allow clubs to lose a maximum of 105 million pounds ($133 million) over a three-year period or face sanctions.
Forest’s assessment period ended in 2022-23 and therefore included two seasons when the club was in the second-tier Championship. For that reason, Forest was permitted losses of up to 61 million pounds ($77 million) in its first year back in the Premier League last season and the club went above the threshold by 34.5 million pounds ($44 million), having made an unprecedented 21 offseason signings at a cost of $160 million following promotion.
The team managed by Nuno Espirito Santo fell from 17th to 18th – one of the three relegation places in the league – and onto 21 points with nine games remaining. Luton, on 22 points, climbed out of the relegation zone as a result.
The sanction was awarded after a hearing with an independent commission this month.
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