English Premier League: Chris Wood’s Nottingham Forest remain in relegation danger as points deduction upheld

Nottingham Forest players confront referee Anthony Taylor in defeat to Everton. Photo / Getty Images

Nottingham Forest lost their appeal against a four-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, a ruling that keeps them in relegation danger with just two games remaining this season.

Forest is the current home of All Whites captain Chris Wood, after he moved from Newcastle United in the January 2023 transfer window, initially on loan before making the switch permanent in June last year for a reported $31 million.

The league said an appeal board has upheld the decision taken by an independent commission in March, which dropped Forest into the relegation zone.

Forest have since climbed back out of the bottom three and are in 17th place in the 20-team league, three points above the relegation zone.

Forest were found to have breached the league’s profitability and sustainability regulations covering the period from 2020-23. The club were only in the Premier League for one of those seasons - 2022-23 - and were permitted losses of up to £61 million ($121m) that year, their first back in the Premier League since 1999.

Forest went above the threshold by £34.5m.

The club launched on appeal on two grounds - that the commission failed to regard the £47.5m sale of Brennan Johnson soon after the three-year assessment period ended as a mitigating factor and that some or all of the points deducted should have been suspended.

“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 Premier League said in a statement. “The four-point deduction will therefore remain in place.”

Forest still have to play Chelsea at home and next-to-last Burnley away, and would be guaranteed to stay up if they pick up at least four points from those matches.

Much of Forest’s mitigation effort centred around the club’s attempts to sell Johnson, one of their top players, after last season finished. Forest realised they were going to be in breach of the rules and needed to sell him or another valuable player by a June 30 deadline for any transfers to be included in the figures for the three-year financial assessment period.

Forest rejected bids for Johnson from Atletico Madrid and Brentford on or before June 30 and wound up selling him to Tottenham on September 1. By then, the club were in breach of the rules.

The three-person appeal board did not regard Forest holding out for a higher fee for Johnson as a mitigating factor, saying “it was a matter for the club how it managed its affairs in a compliant way”.