Premier League has charged LCFC with an alleged breach of PSR

[Tom12345]

What vendetta by the Premier League and EFL.

 

We have already suffered the consequences multiple times as a result of trying to get ourselves to be competitive. They punished us for trying to break into the exclusive club. We basically stopped spending much 22/23, got relegated and sold more than we spent for 23/24, and then after we got back into the EPL with our hands tied financially 24/25, we are relegated again.  We obviously tried to rectify for 3 seasons and paid the consequences.

 

What did they want? Firesale all players and get maybe even less and then go into bankruptcy?

 

These rules and the vendetta by the PL are insane!

 

[don_danbury]

youd think all this cheating would have benefitted us 😂. Already punished ourselves with the two relegations.

Edited 21 May 2025 by don_danbury

[Pliskin]

2 hours ago, don_danbury said:

youd think all this cheating would have benefitted us 😂. Already punished ourselves with the two relegations.

This is what may spare us a hefty punishment. We can prove we’ve curbed the spending, and we’ve suffered two relegations in three years. So this may go into the considerations of the decision makers. What’s the point in punishing us heavily? We’re already on our arse. 

[teblin]

17 minutes ago, Pliskin said:

This is what may spare us a hefty punishment. We can prove we’ve curbed the spending, and we’ve suffered two relegations in three years. So this may go into the considerations of the decision makers. What’s the point in punishing us heavily? We’re already on our arse. 

The argument will be that the year in question we went up.

[LCFCJohn]

Those (few and I mean a handful if that) who constantly defend Top/KP on this form are very notable on their absence from this thread…

 

As for the debate many seem to have over the club vs PL/EFL. They are all as bad as each other.

 

Yes the PL and EFL are corrupt as f***. Their rules are uncompetitive, designed to create a closed shop and they do target low hanging fruit like us, Forest and Everton (not without good reason individually) whilst turning a blind eye to the likes of Chelsea and Man City albeit that is a complex case. They are also displaying a somewhat personal reaction to being challenged back in how they are going after us with such malice.

 

However, that does not detract from the shambles that is the club. The showing ambition line is a load of crap. That argument falls down when you look at the business we have done over the past few years. We have been badly managed, incompetent and the hierarchy show now accountability and take no responsibility for any of their actions, doubling down on their many many mistakes. The board deserved to be punished for how they have ran the club into the ground whilst deflecting and blaming everything and everyone without taking a look at themselves.

 

It’s embarrassing to be a Leicester fan right now. Not because we got relegated but the constant breaching of financial matters and the reputation we have as a club. We have a deserved reputation as cheats. The administration accusations from 20+ years ago maybe harsh due to external factors (ITV Digital) but since KP arrived we deserve that reputation. Shadiness around our initial promotion and now all this in recent years. 

[Pliskin]

10 minutes ago, teblin said:

The argument will be that the year in question we went up.

Still stands. The crooks of the rules are to prevent an “unfair sporting advantage”….. naturally we’re balling and Man City and Chelsea are in the gutter……..

[teblin]

7 minutes ago, Pliskin said:

Still stands. The crooks of the rules are to prevent an “unfair sporting advantage”….. naturally we’re balling and Man City and Chelsea are in the gutter……..

I don’t disagree, the rules are pants I know fans of other club that feel the same way. (Stoke for example)

 

That said this is still mismanagement by the club, we are or have been losing money all over the place, due to crazy contracts being handed out.

 

We have failed despite having barnes, castange, KDH sales and Enzo compensation in that accounting year.

 

Plus silly charges like not submitting accounts on time which is ludicrous.

[Claudio Fannieri]

50 minutes ago, Pliskin said:

This is what may spare us a hefty punishment. We can prove we’ve curbed the spending, and we’ve suffered two relegations in three years. So this may go into the considerations of the decision makers. What’s the point in punishing us heavily? We’re already on our arse. 

I see what you are saying but have we really curbed our spending and have we really learnt any lessons, I would suggest absolutely not, if anything we have continued to throw our lucrative contracts but just to a lower level of player. 
 

When we came down last time we had players like Hamza, Ward, Daka and Soumare who between them were on £250k per week, those 4 are still here, despite relegation and a supposed reset we then offered Winks and Coady contracts worth over £130k per week in the championship and close on £200k per week in the prem between them.
 

We then double down again by spending £40m and another circa  £250k  per week in wages to the likes of Skipp, Ayew, Eduaord and BDCR. All of which were the recommendations of a manager that the owner didn’t really want. 

 

Where have we learnt, where have we curbed our spending. Similar if not smaller sized clubs to us such Brighton, Palace, Bournemouth, Brentford and Fulham all seem to stay compliant and competitive, whilst we throw lucrative contracts to players who are not deserving of them in the view that is what makes us challenge the big 6, no it isn’t. 
 

We used to scout well, recruit young hungry players with a high ceiling, this is what made us successful, then we got lazy and instead of continuing to refresh we started to pay big wages across the majority of the squad, rank average players earning in excess of £2-3m per year to be squad fillers and bench warmers. 
 

Now the level of player we attract has reduced however we still seem happy to reward with big contracts. How anyone can continue to defend the directors of this club, who continually flout the rules, that have been in place for long enough, whilst delivering 2 relegations is absolutely beyond me, especially when the 5 clubs I mentioned have all been challenging for European qualification whilst remaining compliant with PSR rules. 
 

If this was at any other club, we would be watching on from afar aghast at the mismanagement of a club. 
 

I don’t feel sorry for the club, the club are not victims, they have shown time and time again a blatant disregard for the rules and it’s now caught up with the club who will be punished, I do feel sorry for the fans, us who can see how our club is being run into the ground and yet continually fail to make the systemic changes needed to reset. 
 

Make no mistake, any sadness I had as to how we have fallen, has long been replaced with anger, towards a board too arrogant to listen or acknowledge any mistakes, accountability or responsibility. A refusal to change anything and an almost unwavering stubbornness to just carry on regardless. 
 

We are not hard done to by the authorities we are reckless and this is going to have some pretty serious repercussions. If this does not make us as a fanbase unite to fight for change for our club then I really do not know what will. 
 

Yes we were in league one once, but honestly this is as bad in terms of ownership, decision making and leadership as I have ever  known it. Currently there are zero redeeming qualities, we have borrowed money to the hilt, supporters disconnected to club, on field shambles, off field we don’t have a clue.. This is really really bad and with a points deduction on the horizon I cannot see it improving for some time, unless Top sells up or suddenly clears out the current directors. 

Edited 21 May 2025 by Claudio Fannieri

[Dahnsouff]

If you consider that the club obviously gets all this news before it breaks, and this is far from the first time we have found our financial feet held to the fire.

Why is the club not making an obvious change? Even if they don't come out and say it, we would surely expect a change in direction, in our way of operating.

So either tighten our belts and stop spending, take it on the chin and move on, or make some obvious personnel changes to employ people who are actual finance/football people.

This limping along is just plain weird on so many levels.

 

Not that sorry that work is taking all my time at the moment, grim to say.

[foxinsocks]

The psr rules are apparently to prevent rouge owners gambling with the future of a club (like Bury).  Imo this could be solved by having owners place a bond with the epl or eft that they forfit up on administration.... so they can't just walk away.

The current system is anti competitive...  preventing well funded clubs from rising up.  It also allows non first team business activities to cover for breaches (selling a hotel or ladies team)

The whole thing is tin pot

[foxinsocks]

1 minute ago, Dahnsouff said:

If you consider that the club obviously gets all this news before it breaks, and this is far from the first time we have found our financial feet held to the fire.

Why is the club not making an obvious change? Even if they don't come out and say it, we would surely expect a change in direction, in our way of operating.

So either tighten our belts and stop spending, take it on the chin and move on, or make some obvious personnel changes to employ people who are actual finance/football people.

This limping along is just plain weird on so many levels.

 

Not that sorry that work is taking all my time at the moment, grim to say.

I agree.  I think the problem is that they are stuck with a costbase due to gambling on rodgers ability to deliver regular ecl participation and over paying wages so that no one can leave. 

Until this is resolved we will find it tight whatever the psr rules are.

We should never pay a player more than they could get elsewhere  (watch vestegaard see out his conract) and we should always sell with 12 months to go if a new contract cannot be agreed.

 

Only when we have a squad on sensible wages will we have the flexibility to invest upon any re promotion to the epl.  Last year all we could afford was a guy out of contract at fulham and two chaps surplus to requirement at palace ....  not going to keep us up was it.

 

[Footballwipe]

4 hours ago, Tom12345 said:

What vendetta by the Premier League and EFL.

 

We have already suffered the consequences multiple times as a result of trying to get ourselves to be competitive. They punished us for trying to break into the exclusive club. We basically stopped spending much 22/23, got relegated and sold more than we spent for 23/24, and then after we got back into the EPL with our hands tied financially 24/25, we are relegated again.  We obviously tried to rectify for 3 seasons and paid the consequences.

 

What did they want? Firesale all players and get maybe even less and then go into bankruptcy?

 

These rules and the vendetta by the PL are insane!

 

This is absolute reactionary bollocks. It's not healthy to think this way.

 

Mainly because a few years ago when we got good again we decided we wanted to be part of the exclusive club. We voted WITH the big teams. We thought we'd made it when we finished fifth twice in a row and seemed to stop using our brains.

 

It is absolutely criminal that people are giving the club yet another pass because of the conspiratorial nonsense that suits in PL and FL offices are desperate to see us fail.

 

If the club had true leadership it would actually adhere to the rules whilst vehemently, vehemently campaigning against them. Public calls for change, open and honest about how it's hamstrung the club. Whatever.

 

You don't sit silently and fail time and time again and then try to weedle out of it. That's not sustainable.

 

[Wasyls Pec Deck]

1 hour ago, Pliskin said:

This is what may spare us a hefty punishment. We can prove we’ve curbed the spending, and we’ve suffered two relegations in three years. So this may go into the considerations of the decision makers. What’s the point in punishing us heavily? We’re already on our arse. 

This is a curious one. I argued this point when the last one was looming over us. But they will think if we’re on our arse, they’ll want us on our knees. And to some extent rightly so. We think the rules and how they’re applied are a bit farcical, but there will be nothing better than this verdict to highlight to everyone just how badly we’ve been run. We can only hope it’s the catalyst for change, but I bet we’ll just amble on and carry on as if nothing has happened. 
 

It’s more likely change will be seen in the playing squad. Again needed, but my one concern though is that clubs will come for our assets, and we’ll be in no position to refuse. Particularly if we can’t get rid of the deadwood we’ll have to sell players we want to keep around (and I’m thinking academy products…). 
 

But it’s all ok because we get a free Singha and a donut twice a season! And we won the league a decade ago so we would be grateful… 😡 

[Md9]

Today’s news will be Danny ward signs a new 8 year contract extension and vestergard will be player manager with his dog as the assistant 

[Pliskin]

@teblin @Claudio Fannieri @Wasyls Pec Deck

 

 

Agree with everything you all say. I’m not for one minute defending the board, and it’s clear we’re still operating with heavy losses…. But my stance is that it’s just becoming a tiresome relentless pursuit by the PL and the EPL to get us. When there’s other teams IE Chelsea and Man City who are blatantly breaking the rules but don’t receive half the scrutiny we have. This should have been settled when the verdict was released, but to change the rules and essentially have another go sends the wrong message to me. We’re no longer a threat to the top 6 and probably never will be again….. (two of those so called big clubs are doing a good job of ****ing up themselves anyway). You would think they would just accept that and move on, we’ve hamstrung ourselves and are paying the price for it.

 

The problem is, and it may even be us who knows, but the EPL and EFL will end up driving a club into extinction by punishing them, or at least set them on the path the self destruction due to hefty punishments. 
 

Points deductions in some scenarios could be the difference between relegation and survival, and the financial implications of relegation can be catastrophic for some teams. I just struggle to see where the sustainability part of this comes in? It just seems to me that it’s a football enforcement team gagging to get one over clubs that have interrupted their exclusive party. 
 

What we’ve done to ourselves is unforgivable, and hopefully this will start to make the most devout clappers see how badly this club is being run. But, I just think the approach to this PSR FFP stuff is Wild West, the EPL know they can’t touch the big boys, so they will hammer anyone else they can get their hands on, this shouldn’t be the way…. If a club is struggling and making mistakes, wouldn’t it be more pertinent to try to remedy the situation through action plans and guidance? Rather than just keep taking points off clubs, potentially causing further damage, and then walk away into the sunset for bumslaps and beers. 
 

I just feel like there needs to be a better system in place that actually puts clubs back on track, rather than further derail them. 

[coolhandfox]

1 hour ago, Dahnsouff said:

If you consider that the club obviously gets all this news before it breaks, and this is far from the first time we have found our financial feet held to the fire.

Why is the club not making an obvious change? Even if they don't come out and say it, we would surely expect a change in direction, in our way of operating.

So either tighten our belts and stop spending, take it on the chin and move on, or make some obvious personnel changes to employ people who are actual finance/football people.

This limping along is just plain weird on so many levels.

 

Not that sorry that work is taking all my time at the moment, grim to say.

Its a balance act, trying to stay competitive and balancing the books.

 

It was always going to take time, the loses from 21/22 and 22/23 were massive and drop out 3 year cycle after this season.

 

It was always going to be a 2 or 3 season job.

[Terraloon]

7 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

I suppose the obvious conclusion to us saying they had no jurisdiction to punish us after relegation was that they did after promotion.

It’s worth reading both the arbitration panels and indeed the clubs statement as just what was finally ruled 

 

The original panel decided that the PL did have jurisdiction to pursue 22/3. That ruling was the subject of an appeal which concluded that the PL didn’t have jurisdiction.

 

The PL had no route to appeal but in their opinion the appeal panel was not correct based on the rules set so set in place an arbitration panel to in effect rule if the final outcome was unreasonable based on rules, evidence and process.

 

One of the three person  arbitration panel was chosen by the PL, one by thee club and the third was chosen by the other two participants.

 

This panel didn’t say in their  ruling that the PLs claim re jurisdiction for 22/23  was wrong  indeed their view was the rules as written did give jurisdiction. The only reason that  the appeal panel’s decision wasn’t overturned leading to charges was that the arbitration panel didn’t  find that the previous reasoning and process was unreasonable.

 

The clubs statement is to be fair is correct but for me it’s a bit selective in that it’s talking about the arbitration panels inability to overturn not what the final legal view re the rules was. 

 

Put another way if the three that made up the arbitration panel had sat on the appeal charges for 22/23 would have followed.

[Iwebema]

4 minutes ago, Pliskin said:

@teblin @Claudio Fannieri @Wasyls Pec Deck

 

 

Agree with everything you all say. I’m not for one minute defending the board, and it’s clear we’re still operating with heavy losses…. But my stance is that it’s just becoming a tiresome relentless pursuit by the PL and the EPL to get us. When there’s other teams IE Chelsea and Man City who are blatantly breaking the rules but don’t receive half the scrutiny we have. This should have been settled when the verdict was released, but to change the rules and essentially have another go sends the wrong message to me. We’re no longer a threat to the top 6 and probably never will be again….. (two of those so called big clubs are doing a good job of ****ing up themselves anyway). You would think they would just accept that and move on, we’ve hamstrung ourselves and are paying the price for it.

 

The problem is, and it may even be us who knows, but the EPL and EFL will end up driving a club into extinction by punishing them, or at least set them on the path the self destruction due to hefty punishments. 
 

Points deductions in some scenarios could be the difference between relegation and survival, and the financial implications of relegation can be catastrophic for some teams. I just struggle to see where the sustainability part of this comes in? It just seems to me that it’s a football enforcement team gagging to get one over clubs that have interrupted their exclusive party. 
 

What we’ve done to ourselves is unforgivable, and hopefully this will start to make the most devout clappers see how badly this club is being run. But, I just think the approach to this PSR FFP stuff is Wild West, the EPL know they can’t touch the big boys, so they will hammer anyone else they can get their hands on, this shouldn’t be the way…. If a club is struggling and making mistakes, wouldn’t it be more pertinent to try to remedy the situation through action plans and guidance? Rather than just keep taking points off clubs, potentially causing further damage, and then walk away into the sunset for bumslaps and beers. 
 

I just feel like there needs to be a better system in place that actually puts clubs back on track, rather than further derail them. 

You and @Claudio Fannieri are both right. 

 

The rules are a farce but we've also made a complete mess of it and given them no option but to go after us, especially after finding the original loophole despite knowingly breaching by quite some distance.

 

The man city stuff is ridiculous, people keep saying "its complicated", yes they've been under investigation for years. Just feels like an excuse to do nothing...took them 3 months to bring charges against us.

 

My hope is when they do absolutely nothing to Man City, clubs like us, Everton and forest come together rather than throwing pointless counter productive shade at eachother and take the league to court for the anti competitive protect the elite rules they are....but until that day we have to take it on the chin that weve made an absolute mess of compliance and you cant say the league is wrong to come after us given how many blatently obvious own goals weve scored.

[Terraloon]

3 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

Its a balance act, trying to stay competitive and balancing the books.

 

It was always going to take time, the loses from 21/22 and 22/23 were massive and drop out 3 year cycle after this season.

 

It was always going to be a 2 or 3 season job.

The 23/24 numbers were still showing a significant loss of circa £19 million but only were achieved because of a significant amount was received by way of transfer income and of course a £10 million one off in response Maresca. 
Of course 24/25 saw a uplift in terms of TV monies but  for me unless significant transfer income is achieved then without doubt the loss for the current year will be far greater than achieved in 23/24.

The simple facts are that as things stand LCFC spend more than in PSR terms it can afford

[Globalfox]

21 hours ago, Les-TA-Jon said:

Source? 

It is a basic principal of law that you cannot be held accountable for something that did not exist at the time of the alleged transgression. If this was acceptable any government could say we are going to double tacans for last year now. 

[Ricey]

5 hours ago, Tom12345 said:

What vendetta by the Premier League and EFL.

 

We have already suffered the consequences multiple times as a result of trying to get ourselves to be competitive. They punished us for trying to break into the exclusive club. We basically stopped spending much 22/23, got relegated and sold more than we spent for 23/24, and then after we got back into the EPL with our hands tied financially 24/25, we are relegated again.  We obviously tried to rectify for 3 seasons and paid the consequences.

 

What did they want? Firesale all players and get maybe even less and then go into bankruptcy?

 

These rules and the vendetta by the PL are insane!

 

Probably for us to lose less than £105m over a three year period and not spaff millions on the likes of Soumare, Daka, Vestergaard and countless huge contracts.

[filthyfox]

Do NOT cast hope on Man City being relegated instead of us...   there is NO WAY they will be docked 40 points.

No way they will be autogated either.

 

*some words may have been created for this post 

Edited 21 May 2025 by filthyfox

[Terraloon]

10 minutes ago, Globalfox said:

It is a basic principal of law that you cannot be held accountable for something that did not exist at the time of the alleged transgression. If this was acceptable any government could say we are going to double tacans for last year now. 

This is why the arbitration panels views are so important

 

That panel clearly believes that the rules do give  jurisdiction to the PL but in relation to 22/3 a charge can’t be laid because the appeal panel’s decision may have been wrong but they way they went about making that decision wasn’t perverse.

[brookfox]

The whole thing feels like a double kick in the teeth tbh. On one hand, the sheer incompetence of the owners makes it hard to really support the club currently.
 

On the other hand the handling of it by the FA; rewriting and retrospectively applying rules, Chelsea selling their women’s team to themselves for a ridiculous fee, clubs trading young players between themselves for inflated fees, Man City 115 charges being dealt with later than our 3… all make it hard to even like football.

[Terraloon]

16 minutes ago, Ricey said:

Probably for us to lose less than £105m over a three year period and not spaff millions on the likes of Soumare, Daka, Vestergaard and countless huge contracts.

Watch that £105 million number. Come down and if promotion isn’t achieved will I believe be:

 

For the 3 year period 24/25, 23/24 & 22/23 £83 million

For the 3 period 25/26, 24/25 & 23/24 £61 million