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Topics: Leicester City, Premier League, FFP, EFL Championship, Football
Rory O'Callaghan
Topics: Leicester City, Premier League, FFP, EFL Championship, Football
Leicester have confirmed they have issued legal proceedings against the Premier League and English Football League (EFL).
It comes after the EFL announced on Friday that Leicester had been placed under a transfer embargo amid an ongoing investigation into alleged breaches of Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR).
Leicester were charged by the Premier League on Thursday with allegedly breaking spending rules during their last three seasons in the top-flight.
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The Foxes, who are currently second in the Championship and on course for promotion back to the Premier League, were referred to an independent commission for breaching PSR and failing to submit audited finances.
If found guilty, Leicester could face a points deduction like Everton and Nottingham Forest. Everton were initially deducted 10 points - later reduced to six on appeal - for breaching PSR, while Forest were recently docked four.
Leicester have now issued a response to the Premier League and EFL.
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"LCFC has been compelled today to issue two urgent legal proceedings against the Premier League and the EFL. LCFC will be seeking that each of these proceedings is determined by an appropriate and fully independent legal panel," read a club statement.
"The Club is committed to ensure that any charges against it are properly and proportionately determined, in accordance with the applicable rules, by the right bodies, and at the right time.
"While LCFC would prefer the proceedings to be in public, so its supporters and the wider world can be informed about the important issues of football governance that will be considered, the relevant rules require that these proceedings are conducted confidentially, and LCFC will therefore not be able to comment further about them at this stage.
"We reaffirm the Club's position that we will continue to fight for the right of Leicester City and all clubs to pursue their ambitions, particularly where these have been reasonably and fairly established through sustained sporting achievement.
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"The Club further notes that at 4pm today the EFL issued a public notification that LCFC has been placed under a registration embargo pursuant to its P&S rules.
"The EFL is aware that LCFC has disputed the EFL's entitlement to impose this constraint, which is both restrictive and premature, with more than a quarter of the Club’s 2023/24 reporting period remaining."
If found guilty of breaching PSR, Leicester are set to be handed a points deduction next season.
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It could see them start the campaign on minus points, regardless of whether they are in the Premier League or Championship.
"If the charges are proven, then I think there's a very high chance of that," football finance expert Kieran Maguire told the BBC.
"That is assuming that they have gone over the limit. We have seen in respect of Nottingham Forest that the ruling appears to be that you will get a three-point deduction for breaching the rules and then there is the sliding scale of how much extra you have gone over the limit."