Nottingham Forest and many of their Premier League counterparts must be wary of falling foul of the new, more stringent, rules
Nottingham Forest and their Premier League rivals could face sanctions from the football body if they look to secure sponsorship deals or explore transfer moves for players with clubs or organisations which are associated to their owners, it has been revealed.
Forest, through owner Evangelos Marinakis who has been at the top of the club since spring 2017, are in partnership with the Greek businessman’s other overseas clubs including Olympiacos – who are serial champions in his native country – and Rio Ave in Portugal.
The original rules, which have been revised and now, as a result, are more stringent than before. They have been introduced in order to prevent top flight clubs from increasing revenue and strengthening their squads directly via their owners by ensuring that transfers conducted within clubs of the same ownership group remain at the market value and to ensure they aren’t earning unfair amounts of money through sponsorship.
Any club who is deemed to be in breach of the new, tighter, rules will be subject to sanctions from the league, reports The Times. All clubs must use “all reasonable care” when exploring moves for players within those ownership groups. In the event that a club is found to be in breach of the rules, then an independent commission will be able to inflict any penalty it wishes, depending on the severity of the transgression.
The reformed regulations are said to have caused what is described as a ‘bitter split’ between clubs who are part of an ownership portfolio and those who aren’t. Many clubs, including Manchester City and Newcastle United, voted against the rules last month when the Premier League proposed the rules.
The league’s handbook says that it will “seek to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of clubs by extinguishing reliance on enhanced commercial revenues received from entities linked to the club’s ownership”, and will promote “fairness amongst clubs, so that clubs are not able to derive an unfair advantage over domestic competitors by increasing revenues or reducing costs via arrangements with entities linked to a club’s ownership”.
Remarkably, Forest are one of 16 Premier League teams who make up part of a wider football operation; only Wolves, Tottenham, Luton and Fulham are not connected to a club elsewhere. Chelsea’s owner Todd Boehly, for example, has a stake in French side Strasbourg and Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke owns MLS outfit Colorado Rapids
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