Leeds United: EFL want to punish Leicester City before Championship title race ends – Phil Hay
The EFL have a “will” to impose some sort of profit and sustainability punishment on Leicester before the end of the season amid the Championship title race with Leeds United, according to Phil Hay.
The Athletic’s Whites correspondent told The Square Ball Podcast on 11 March that the league would like to take action against the Foxes for apparent spending breaches but in the time available it looks “inconceivable” that they would manage to do so before the campaign ends.
After Leeds won at Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night and Leicester drew at Hull a day later there is a gap of three points between the top two, with the leaders currently facing sanctions from both the EFL and the Premier League over financial losses [i News, 8 March].
Hay said (13m 10s): “Obviously in the background for Leicester as well there’s the PSR aspect and what the breaches we assume they’ve made of the financial limits are going to mean for them.
“I think there is a will on the EFL’s part to try and impose something before the end of the season but the timeframe seems too short, it seems inconceivable that anything could happen before the beginning of May.
“If there is going to be any punishment for Leicester it’s probably going to run beyond then, and beyond the season’s conclusion.”
Leicester City punishment likely to come too late to benefit Leeds United
The recent spending crackdown by the league authorities of both the top two divisions has caused all manner of upset at a number of clubs, but none of it seems to particularly be working in the Whites’ favour.
While there are numerous arguments about the fairness of who is punished, by how much, and when, it is now a fact that the three sides who finished immediately above Leeds United as they were relegated from the Premier League last season, and the current second tier leaders, have now been charged with breaking financial regulations.
Everton and Nottingham Forest are awaiting commission hearings, with the Toffees already docked six points, down from 10 after appeal, for the previous accounting period, and now Leicester who finished one place above the Whites in 18th last term and are the only side above them in the Championship table this are facing punishment in both divisions.
Angus Kinnear is thought to have been central to the investigation into Everton, and there remains the possibility of compensation claims from Elland Road being launched against the embattled Premier League club.
So the Leeds CEO is bound to again be unhappy about the situation at the King Power as well, if it apparently will come too late to change the situation in this season’s race.
Ultimately if Daniel Farke can finish in the top two and secure automatic promotion it might not make a huge difference, although lifting the title itself as the best team all year is clearly a target, but should the Whites drop into the play-offs and potentially not go up it might cause a lot of disquiet in West Yorkshire.
In other Leeds United news, an expected permanent exit is now in doubt after a slump brought on following a medical condition.
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