Nottingham Forest is accused of violating the Profitability & Sustainability Rules, which cap the amount of money teams can lose in a three-year period. Simon Jordan feels that Nottingham Forest is treated unfairly by these rules.
Forest is facing charges of going over that limit, and they are waiting to hear back from an independent committee that held a hearing last week to determine whether to impose any sanctions.
Jordan, the former owner of Crystal Palace, points out that after Forest was promoted, the current regulations, which state that losses cannot surpass an average of £13 million in the Championship and £35 million in the top division annually, put a stop to them. When Forest needed to make investments to maintain their hard-earned status, they were at a financial disadvantage because two of their qualifying years were at the lower level.
“I believe that there is a component of Financial Fair Play that is a blunt tool,” Jordan stated on the White and Jordan programme on talk SPORT. “I believe that Nottingham Forest should have had some kind of exemption from sanctions since they were promoted from the EFL to the Premier League.
“Forest is losing badly because they can’t afford to have losses totaling £105 million because they’re carrying up two EFL years’ worth of losses and one Premier League year’s worth of losses. Their allotment is limited at £60 million.
“It doesn’t change the fact that their owner knew what he was doing, had to get the balance right, and was a rapacious spender of far too much money.”
Jordan is not as convinced as some that Forest is being penalised for not giving Brennan Johnson the money he deserves. The winger was sold to Tottenham in the summer of last year, but it was too late to incorporate the money into the three-year accounting period that is presently being examined.
