The English Football League is weighing up taking action against Leicester City after admitting its “frustration” that the club had avoided a points deduction.
Leicester are to escape punishment after winning their appeal for allegedly breaching financial fair play rules, a victory that was a huge blow to the Premier League.
Last season’s Championship winners were charged in March with allegedly breaking profitability and sustainability rules for three seasons leading up to the 22/23 campaign when they lost £24.4 million more than the permitted £105 million.
Leicester successfully argued that the League had no jurisdiction to punish them because they had been relegated to the Championship when their accounting period ended.
The Premier League expressed its “surprise” and “disappointment” at the appeal board’s decision and the EFL has issued a statement revealing its anger.
Last season the EFL failed to place Leicester under a transfer embargo amid concerns over the club’s projected accounts for 23/24, and it is now considering its next move.
The EFL’s statement read: “We are currently reviewing the decision in full and will reserve any further substantive comment until any possible appeal process initiated by the Premier League has concluded, and or any action is taken by the EFL.
“We share the frustrations of the Premier League. It cannot be right that clubs potentially escape the scrutiny of the agreed rules and sanctions due to movement across the divisions.
“Cost control rules have been agreed by the member clubs of the Premier League and EFL, and it is incumbent on the Leagues to apply the rules as intended to uphold the integrity of competitions, with clubs required to act in utmost good faith towards one another for the benefit of all clubs and their supporters.”
The response to Leicester’s successful appeal from other clubs has been met with astonishment and, in some cases, anger.
One prominent Championship executive told Telegraph Sport that the appeal “absolutely destroys the Premier League rule book”, as the case was effectively won on a technicality.
