Nottingham Forest appeal: Sheffield United and Luton Town's Premier League rivals learn deduction fate

The club were issued a four-point penalty for breaching financial rules and quickly signalled their intention to appeal against the punishment. However, following a review, the deduction has been upheld.

Forest were hit with the deduction for breaching permitted losses by £34.5m in the period ending with the 2022/23 season. The club felt the commission should have taken the sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham Hotspur, completed after the end of the financial year, into account as a mitigating factor.

As a result, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side remain just three points above the relegation zone. The news will be music to the ears of Luton Town and Burnley, who could still escape relegation to the Championship. Rock-bottom Sheffield United, however, have had their fate sealed.

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A statement issued by the Premier League read: “The club argued that the independent commission committed an error in not treating its sale of a high-profile player shortly after the assessment period as a mitigating factor, and that it committed a further error in electing not to suspend some or all of the points deduction it imposed.

“Each of these grounds was rejected by the appeal board, which found the independent commission was entitled to immediately impose the sanction it did. The four-point deduction will therefore remain in place.”