LEICESTER, England (AP) — Leicester has issued “urgent legal proceedings” against the Premier League and the English Football League, the club said on Friday, after being charged for breaching financial rules.
The team from central England has been referred to an independent commission for an alleged breach of the Premier League profitability and sustainability rules during its previous seasons in the top-flight. The period in question is the three years up to and including the 2022-23 season, Leicester’s last in the Premier League before relegation to the Championship.
Leicester, which is in second place in the Championship with nine games remaining, said on Friday it has been placed under a transfer embargo by the EFL in relation to its financial rules.
“(Leicester) has been compelled today to issue two urgent legal proceedings against the Premier League and the EFL,” the club said. “LCFC will be seeking that each of these proceedings is determined by an appropriate and fully independent legal panel.
“The club is committed to ensure that any charges against it are properly and proportionately determined, in accordance with the applicable rules, by the right bodies, and at the right time.”
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Leicester added in a statement that the transfer embargo issued by the EFL was “restrictive and premature, with more than a quarter of the club’s 2023-24 reporting period remaining.”
Everton and Nottingham Forest have already been punished this season for overspending. Everton was deducted 10 points, reduced to six on appeal, while Forest was docked four points this week and dropped into the Premier League relegation zone as a result.
Everton also faces a second case that is being heard before the end of the season.
Leicester said on Thursday it was “surprised” and “extremely disappointed” to have been charged by the Premier League and the club “would fight for the right of all clubs to pursue their ambitions, particularly where these have been reasonably and fairly established through sustained sporting achievement.”
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