What were the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules, and who lost points?

The Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules, or PSR, limited how much money a club could lose over a rolling three-year period. They were finalised in 2013, with the same aim as UEFA's Financial Fair Play: to stop clubs spending more than they earn. In 2023 and 2024 they led to the first points deductions of their kind, at Everton and Nottingham Forest.

Everton were first. On 17 November 2023 the club received a ten-point deduction with immediate effect for breaching the rules. It had made losses of £124.5 million in the three years up to 2021–22, with the limit being £105 million. It was the biggest points deduction in Premier League history, surpassing the nine taken from Portsmouth in 2010. Everton appealed, arguing that the commission was biased and the punishment excessive and unfair. On 26 February 2024 the deduction was reduced to six points after the appeal board's initial result. On 8 April 2024 Everton were found guilty of a second breach, resulting in a two-point deduction, subject to appeal, and became the first top-flight club to receive two separate deductions in one season.

Nottingham Forest followed. It was charged on 15 January 2024 over its 2022–23 accounts and, on 18 March 2024, docked four points after an independent commission found its losses breached the £61 million threshold by £34.5 million. Its threshold was lower than Everton's because it had spent two of the three seasons in the Championship. The club appealed, but the appeal was rejected.

PSR has since been replaced. The Premier League says its new rules replaced PSR from the beginning of the 2026/27 season. PSR looked at a club's overall profit, including all revenues and costs, while the new Squad Cost Ratio focuses solely on spending that directly affects what happens on the pitch.