The Premier League have confirmed no clubs will face charges over profitability and sustainability regulations for last season.
Reports emerged on Tuesday that three clubs feared being charged by the Premier League.
Clubs with aggregate losses in the last two accounting periods – 2021-22 and 2022-23 – were obliged under league rules to submit 2023-24 accounts to the Premier League by December 31, with any complaints to be issued to clubs by the league within 14 days.
Leicester City were among the clubs considered at risk of a points deduction, but the Foxes have avoided a breach.
The club, however, remain at risk pending the outcome of an ongoing jurisdiction case related to the 2022-23 season.
Leicester had escaped a sanction in September after appealing their PSR decision, arguing that they were not under Premier League jurisdiction after being relegated to the Championship last season.
Leicester City have avoided a points deduction from the Premier League over PSR rules
It presents a massive relief for Jamie Vardy and Co as they bid for survival in the top flight
Ruud van Nistelrooy revealed he had positive talks with the owners over the situation last week
Mail Sport reported last week that the governing body imminently planned to announce whether the Foxes had breached their profitability and sustainability regulations, which permit clubs to lose no more than £105million over a three-year period.
The Premier League have found that the east Midlands club did not breach the rules and subsequently have confirmed they will not be docked points. The £105m figure was lowered for Leicester due to their expenditure in the Championship last season.
Leicester will remain in 19th place on 14 points, sandwiched between Ipswich on 16 and Southampton on six, ahead of what promises to be a scrap for Premier League survival.
‘Issues as to the jurisdiction of the Premier League over Leicester City Football Club in relation to PSR compliance are currently the subject of confidential arbitration proceedings,’ the Premier League stated.
‘Accordingly, neither the league nor the club will make any further comment at this stage about any aspect of the club’s compliance or otherwise with any of the PSR or related rules, save to say that no complaint has been brought against Leicester by the league for any breach of the PSRs for the period ending Season 2023-24.’
When asked about the threat of a points deduction last week, Ruud van Nistelrooy said: ‘The conversations that I’ve had with the hierarchy have been very good conversations. When I took the job I had a lot of questions about these topics.
‘It was very important for me to be able to understand where the club is and where they want to go to, and what my role in that would be.
‘We started working together and so far there has been no sign that anything (I was told) is not right. Things have unfolded completely as it was said at the time. As long as that is the case, we are aligned. I don’t expect that to change.’
Three clubs had reportedly feared being charged with breaches of Premier League rules
Top flight clubs with aggregate losses for the last two seasons submitted their accounts on December 31 (Pictured: Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters in October 2024)
Leicester, who have lost their last five league games, returned to winning ways with a 6-2 thrashing over Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
The Foxes will still need to find wins quickly in the Premier League if they are to have any hope of survival, with the first opportunity coming during Wednesday night’s clash against Crystal Palace at the King Power Stadium.
Three clubs had reportedly been under heavy scrutiny during the 14-day review period.
Chelsea have been scrutinised closely, with the Blues having spent over £1billion on player transfers since the 2022 arrival of new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
The club sparked outrage in April last year when the west London club sold a hotel on their Stamford Bridge site to one of their sister companies in a bid to avoid PSR breaches, in a move which is thought to have been well-received by the Premier League.
The regulations permit the sale of ‘fixed tangible assets’ to associated parties, with a vote to close the loophole unsuccessful at the Premier League’s AGM at the end of last season.
Chelsea’s ownership also sold the women’s team to its parent company, BlueCo Midco on June 28, the year-end cut-off point for their 2023-24 accounts.
Everton were among the clubs charged last season, prompting protests from their supporters
The Blues had expressed confidence they would comply with regulations.
Manchester United similarly were confident that they are compliant with the league’s rules despite posting losses of £113.2m for the year ending June 30 2024 in September of last year.
Last January, Everton and Nottingham Forest were charged for a breach of PSR regulations pertaining to their 2022-23 accounts, with the latter club docked four points.
The Toffees were docked two points as the charges were heard going into the end of the 2023-24 season, having previously been docked 10 in November 2023 for a breach of the regulations in their 2021-22 accounts. This was later reduced to six on appeal.
