Premier League clubs are considering abolishing points deductions and introducing a ‘luxury tax’, Mail Sport can reveal.
The hefty points-deduction punishments for Everton and Nottingham Forest – coupled with a quiet January transfer window as clubs did not dare overspend and risk sanction – have left many officials to deem the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) not fit for purpose.
There are also grave fears are that, under its current guise, PSR will see the Premier League fall from its lucrative position as the world’s best league because it will no longer be able to afford the best players on the best salaries.
Radical reform has been discussed among the clubs and an entirely new system could be voted in at the end of the season meeting in June. As many as 17 of the 20 clubs are thought to be leaning towards significant change. Fourteen clubs need to be in agreement to get a rule change through.
Some feel that the eventual six-point penalty dished out to Everton and the four handed to Forest were draconian and not reflective of why PSR was brought in.
Points deductions for financial breaches could be scrapped in the Premier League next season
Everton suffered a six-point deduction this term for breaking Profit and Sustainability Rules
Nottingham Forest were hit with a four-points deduction this season too for the same sanction
They believe that should clubs wish to ‘have a go’ and have the money to do so, they should not face a punishment that could plunge them into the Championship.
A ‘luxury tax’ has been considered, where those clubs who overspend will have a financial punishment which would increase the more they splash the cash. But clubs can choose to press on regardless if they wish.
The monies collected, which could run into the tens of millions, would then be redistributed to those Premier League who complied with the rules. It has been discussed that some of the fines could even go into an ’emergency fund’ to assist EFL clubs in financial danger.
Currently, such a tax features in America’s Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association, and relates to the amount spent on the salaries of the playing squad.
America’s other two main sporting leagues, the NFL and National Hockey League, meanwhile, have ‘hard’ salary caps which clubs are not allowed to exceed.
While some clubs want the tax to remove the threat of points deductions entirely,…