Fresh challenge revealed as statement made on Nottingham Forest points deduction appeal defeat

Following the rejection of a submission made during Nottingham Forest’s appeal hearing, the Premier League has come under fire for allegedly failing to hear the opinions of the supporters.

The Reds’ appeal against their four-point deduction for violating the Profitability and Sustainability Rules was denied by an impartial panel. They did not appear to consider the arguments presented by the Nottingham Forest Supporters’ Trust (NFST) in addition to rejecting the club’s argument.

Robert Matusiewicz, a football finance expert and member of the trust board, assisted in compiling the report following the March points deduction ruling. The Trust stated that one of the goals of the original independent commission was to “highlight a number of incorrect assumptions or interpretations.”

The report was cited by the appeal board in their written justification for maintaining Forest’s sentence. They stated: “The board received a document from the Nottingham Forest Supporters Trust titled “NFST report on the Independent Commission decision on Nottingham Forest Football Club on Profit and Sustainability Rules” dated April 16, 2024, in addition to the submissions made by the parties.

The NFST acknowledges the strong feelings that supporters of sanctioned clubs (or other Premier League clubs) have regarding sanctions for PSR breaches, but like other supporters’ clubs, it lacks standing in an appeal of this kind. Despite having read it, we do not believe it adds anything to the club’s own submissions, as neither the Premier League nor the club mentioned the contents of this document during the hearing.

The Trust issued a statement after the appeal verdict stating that they were “disappointed” by the ruling and thought the Reds’ punishment was “disproportionate.” Additionally, they urge the Premier League to pay attention to fan opinions, as club owners have pledged to do under the Premier League Owners’ Charter.

“NFST is disappointed at the appeal board’s decision to uphold the independent commission’s (IC) original decision to impose a sanction of a four-point deduction for the admitted breach of a Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) violation,” the statement reads. Following the release of the initial IC ruling, NFST made the decision to write a report on the decision itself and our opinions on whether PSR is accomplishing the stated goal for the benefit of our members and other interested fans.

After the initial draft was reviewed, it was determined that sending the report to the appeal board might have some value. As a result, it was given to the board members for review and submitted to the club and the Premier League as parties to the appeal.

Although the appeal board acknowledged that it had read the report, it declares that supporters lack standing in this kind of appeal. While we accept the legal correctness of this in its strictest sense, we believe that the Premier League ought to follow the same rule that club owners demand, since point 1 of the Owner’s Charter states, “We understand the vital nature of our fans and we commit to listening to their views.”

“This report took many hours to produce, under the direction of Robert Matusiewicz, NFST board member and expert in football finance. Although the outcome wasn’t what everyone who had Forest’s best interests at heart was hoping for, it was still worth the effort. For the record, we continue to believe that the four-point sanction is excessive and goes against PSR’s goals for the reasons we detail in the report.

“The tenets of NFST are fundamentally based on the importance of fans. We now stand with all Forest supporters in demanding that our team perform well on the pitch in order to maintain our esteemed Premier League standing. We have no doubt that our players will pay attention to the supporters in the stands and adjust their play accordingly.