Leicester City and the EFL reach agreement to settle dispute
Leicester City and the EFL have reached an agreement over a dispute involving a breach of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules in the championship winning season of 2013/14.
City are understood to have posted a loss of £20.8 million that season, exceeding the permitted £8 million by some margin. However, Leicester categorised £13 million of their loss that year as “allowable” because of promotion and the academy costs.
Leicester City challenged the charges against them shortly after they were informed about it by the EFL, but a similar legal challenge by Queens Park Rangers in May 2015 meant that the proceedings were halted, with the Rangers’ case still pending.
Thankfully, Leicester have now reached an agreement to finally settle the dispute once and for all and will have to pay £3.1 million to the EFL, which is quite a good deal, considering that they could have faced a fine of up to £13 million. An official statement on Leicester City’s official website read:
"“In reaching a settlement, the EFL acknowledges that the Club did not make any deliberate attempt to infringe the Rules or to deceive and that the dispute arose out of genuine differences of interpretation of the Rules between the parties. All relevant matters were taken into account when determining the quantum of the settlement.The agreed settlement of £3,100,000 is in full and final settlement of all and any claims by the EFL against the Club and its officers, in respect of the FFP Regulations for season 2013/14.No further details with regards to the settlement will be released”."
Leicester City aren’t the only club to have breached the FFP rules. AFC Bournemouth were fined £7.6 million in 2014/15 (promotion winning season), while Bolton, Fulham and Nottingham Forest saw a transfer ban lasting a season imposed on them the same season.
Following the East Midlanders’ settlement, one might wonder when will the FFP rules be applied just as strictly to teams like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, who, despite blatantly “peeing in the pool” get away with it.
Next: Leicester City Vs Stoke City: Claude Puel demanding a strong response
A spending spree worth £220 million in one summer, or perhaps £300 million on two players alone, doesn’t quite have the feel of something falling well within the laws, does it?