Lawyer makes Nottingham Forest FFP points deduction appeal prediction
|Nottingham Forest have appealed their four-point deduction but a lawyer involved in Everton’s case does not believe the club will be successful
Lawyer Matthew Stanbury, who represented the Everton Fan Advisory Board in their clubâs successful appeal against their initial ten-point deduction, says Nottingham Forest fans should not expect their sanction to be overturned.
On Monday, it was confirmed that Forest have decided to appeal their four-point penalty, which was initially reduced from six due to âexceptional co-operationâ with the Premier League.
The club had made it clear that they were nevertheless âextremely disappointedâ with the outcome of the independent panel upon its publication. Their decision to appeal could potentially take the case beyond the end of the season, meaning final day standings might not indicate who is ultimately relegated.
The four-point sanction has sunk Forest into the bottom three with nine Premier League matches to go, with Luton Town a point ahead. Stanbury has his doubts about Forestâs decision to appeal and believes it is ambitious to expect the deduction to shrink.
Taking to X, he said of Forestâs appeal: âNot a chance that the Appeal Board, having given EFC 6 points, is overturning the decision.â
Forest have always admitted they had broken Premier League Profit & Sustainability Rules, breaching their loss cap by ÂŁ34.5m. Their deficit limit stood at ÂŁ61m, rather than ÂŁ105m, given that two of the three years in the previous cycle were spent under Championship regulations.
The appeals process for both their case and Evertonâs second batch of charges – should one come forth from the Toffees – must be concluded by May 24, five days after the end of the campaign.
There is the possibility that the appeals board deems the Premier League’s four-point sanction as too lenient so Forest could see their deduction increase.