Nottingham Forest failed in their appeal against the four-point deduction for profit and sustainability breaches as the commission did not accept the mitigating circumstances.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, senior correspondent Pete O’Rourke revealed that Forest’s main argument had been surrounding the delayed sale of Brennan Johnson.
It was explained that the club could have sold Johnson to Brentford early last summer to clear them of PSR concerns but wanted to maximise profits.
The appeals commission did not consider this to be enough grounds to overturn their decision.
The four-point deduction was delivered in March when Forest also attempted to plead their case, but it has now been upheld after rejecting the appeal.
As revealed by Football Insider, Forest had rejected three offers from Brentford, the highest of which was £40million, but held out to receive £47.5million from Spurs on deadline day.
Nottingham Forest PSR appeal was rejected
The club insisted during their appeal that they should not have been forced to sell early to avoid punishment, with the deal eventually happening past the financial deadline.
However, the commission disagreed with the grounds for appeal and upheld their decision.
Forest’s points deduction has seen them plunged into a relegation battle, with just three points separating them from the relegation zone.
Any reduction to that punishment would have seen them move further away with just two games to go, but their fate remains in the balance.
The argument that an earlier sale would have forced the club to take a lower price made sense from a business point of view, but fell out of line with Premier League rules.
O’Rourke also explained that it had come as no surprise that the appeal was rejected despite the club’s initial hopes.
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