23rd December 2023; The City Ground, Nottingham, England; Premier League Football, Nottingham Forest versus Bournemouth; Chris Wood of Nottingham Forest Photo: Graham Wilson
Nottingham Forest were plunged into the Premier League relegation zone on Monday after having four points deducted for breaking financial rules last season.
The deduction, announced by the league, left Forest in 18th place in the standings with 21 points, one behind Luton Town and four clear of 19th placed Burnley.
All Whites skipper Chris Wood is the leading goal scorer for Forest this season with nine.
The Premier League said an independent commission had applied the immediate deduction after a two-day hearing "for a breach of the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules for the period ending season 2022/23."
The statement noted that Forest had admitted to breaching the threshold of £61 million (NZ$128m) by £34.5m (NZ$72m).
Premier League clubs are allowed to lose £105m over three seasons but two years of Forest's assessment period were spent in the second tier Championship, meaning they could lose only a maximum of £61m.
The Premier League said the club, who were promoted in May 2022 and charged last January, had demonstrated 'exceptional cooperation' in their dealings with the Premier League throughout the process.
Forest are the second Premier League club to be deducted points this season for finance breaches, with Everton having 10 taken away in November before the sanction was reduced to six on appeal this month.
Everton are still waiting on a potential second punishment relating to 2022-23.
-Reuters