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

Leicester City 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 Premier League appointed the commission under its rules, and it recommended a six-point sanction for the Foxes which the EFL board ratified at a meeting on February 5.

To ensure certainty for all clubs and fans, the Premier League said it would seek 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.

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Appealing

Leicester received the sanction for breaching the EFL’s profit and sustainability (P&S) rules for the 2023-24 season.

The Premier League also confirmed it will appeal, but clarified that it will only challenge the commission’s decision not to sanction the club for breaching league rules over the late submission of its annual accounts.

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

Disproportionate

The commission determined the club had breached the relevant P&S threshold by £20.8million 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”.

Leicester avoided a points deduction for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) for the 2022-23 season after the club won its appeal in September 2024.

An appeal board found in that instance that the independent commission appointed under Premier League rules did not have jurisdiction over the club

This is because the 2022-23 accounting period ended a month and two days after the club’s relegation from the top flight.

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