Nottingham Forest’s appeal against a four-point deduction for breaching Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) has been rejected by an independent Appeal Board.
The Trick Trees were penalised in March after it emerged they had overspent £34.5 million over a three-year period.
They were to be handed a six-point penalty, but it was reduced to four due to their early plea and cooperation.
However, Forest appealed against the decision and an independent commission heard their case last month. The appeal was unsuccessful.
The statement read (as per The Guardian): “The club argued that the independent commission committed an error in not treating its sale of a high-profile player [Brennan Johnson] shortly after the assessment period as a mitigating factor and that it committed a further error in electing not to suspend some or all of the points deduction it imposed.
“Each of these grounds was rejected by the appeal board, which found the independent commission was entitled to immediately impose the sanction it did. The four-point deduction will therefore remain in place.”
The latest news is a big blow to Forest’s hopes of securing Premier League survival this term.
With two games remaining in the season, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are three points ahead of Luton Town in the league standings.
That should be enough for Forest to stay up, but they face Chelsea and Burnley in their final two fixtures.
Losing both games will see them relegated if Luton pick up more than three points in their matches against West Ham United and Fulham.
