Leicester appeal against six-point penalty for breaching EFL financial rules

Leicester have appealed against a six-point penalty imposed on the club by an independent commission for breaching EFL financial rules, the Premier League has announced.

The commission, which was appointed under Premier League rules, recommended the six-point sanction for the Foxes which was ratified at an EFL board meeting on 5 February.

The Premier League said that to ensure certainty for all clubs and fans, it would be seeking to have the appeal resolved urgently – before the end of the EFL season.

The deduction dropped Leicester from 17th to 20th in the Championship and they now sit in 22nd, within the second tier’s relegation zone.

The sanction was imposed for breaching the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules for the 2023-24 season.

The Premier League said it was also appealing, but said its claim is limited to the commission’s decision not to impose a sanction on the club for their breach of league rules regarding the late submission of their annual accounts.

The commission was appointed under Premier League rules in May 2025, after an arbitration tribunal ruled jurisdiction to investigate alleged breaches of EFL rules could transfer to the Premier League following the Foxes’ promotion to the top flight in 2024.

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The commission determined the club had breached the relevant P&S threshold by £20.8m over the three-year assessment period ending 2023-24.

Leicester did not immediately issue their own statement confirming an appeal on Thursday, but stated at the time of the original sanction being imposed that they felt the size of the deduction was “disproportionate” and did “not adequately reflect the mitigating factors presented, the importance of which cannot be overstated given the potential impact on our sporting ambitions this season”.

The Foxes avoided a points deduction in relation to alleged breaches of the top flight’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) for the 2022-23 season after an appeal by Leicester was upheld in September 2024.

An appeal board found in that instance the independent commission appointed under Premier League rules did not have jurisdiction over the club, because it ruled the 2022-23 accounting period ended a month and two days after the club’s relegation from the top flight.