Nottingham Forest's Appeal against Four-point Deduction Rejected

The English football club, Nottingham Forest's appeal to overturn a four-point deduction has been denied. The club was penalized with a point deduction in March for breaching the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules for the 2022/23 season by exceeding the permitted loss threshold of £61m by £34.5m. This makes Nottingham Forest the second Premier League team to face penalties for violating these rules, after Everton received a 10-point penalty last November, later reduced to six points on appeal.

Nottingham Forest had hoped that the sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham could be considered a mitigating factor for this penalty since it occurred two months after the financial year's end in 2023. Also, they felt that the sanction should have been partially or wholly suspended. Nonetheless, both these grounds were rejected by the appeal board, which ruled the sanction to be immediately imposed, thereby leaving the four-point deduction unchanged.

This decision leaves Nottingham Forest in 17th place in the Premier League, barely three points clear of the relegation zone, with just two games remaining for the season. A reversal of two or more points would have led to relegating Burnley, which is second-bottom currently. However, as a result of the upheld points deduction, Burnley stays in the game, trailing Nottingham Forest by five points with two upcoming games.

Despite the unfavourable ruling, Nottingham Forest has chosen not to comment after the appeal panel's verdict. As the season closes, the atmosphere remains tense for both Forest and the other clubs at risk of relegation.