Eight Points, Four Points, Small Fines: The Punishments That Came Before City
Long before Manchester City’s day of reckoning, the Premier League was already punishing clubs. For some, the price was a relegation fight and millions in lost revenue. For others, a fine that barely dented the budget.
Everton: The Club That Paid Twice
What happened
It started at Goodison Park in November 2023. Everton were charged with breaking the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which allow clubs to lose a maximum of £105 million over three seasons. An independent commission found Everton had overshot that limit by around £19.5 million in the 2021-22 period.
The punishment was unprecedented: 10 points, the biggest sporting sanction in Premier League history at the time.
Everton appealed and won partial relief. In February 2024 the deduction was cut to six points. But weeks later a second charge landed, this time for the 2022-23 accounts, and in April 2024 another two points were gone.
The consequences
- The table: The first deduction dropped Everton from 14th to 19th overnight, turning a mid-table season into a full-blown relegation fight.
- The pressure: Sean Dyche’s squad spent the entire season looking over their shoulder. They survived and finished 15th, but only after months of fighting just to stay up.
- The money: The damage didn’t stop at points. Burnley, who went down in 2022 while Everton survived, argued that Everton’s overspending had given the Toffees an unfair sporting advantage. An independent commission agreed and ordered Everton to pay Burnley £35.1 million in compensation.
- The anger: Everton fans marched, protested and unfurled banners accusing the league of corruption. Their argument was simple: why was their club punished so quickly while bigger cases dragged on for years?
Total cost: 8 points and £35.1 million.
Nottingham Forest: Four Points and a Nervous Finish
What happened
Forest were next. In March 2024, a commission found they had exceeded the PSR limit for the 2022-23 period by roughly £34.5 million. Forest argued they had delayed the sale of Brennan Johnson to get a better fee, which would have covered the gap, but the commission wasn’t persuaded.
The sanction was four points, with no fine. Forest appealed and lost.
The consequences
- The table: The deduction pushed Forest into the relegation zone at the business end of the season, when every point decides who goes down.
- The survival: Forest finished 17th and stayed up, but it was tight. In a normal season, with stronger clubs at the bottom, those four points could easily have been fatal.
- The relationship: Forest were furious. The club had already clashed publicly with referees and the league, and the deduction deepened their feeling that the system was stacked against them.
Total cost: 4 points.
Middlesbrough: The Ghost of 1997
What happened
Boro fans still don’t need reminding. In December 1996, Middlesbrough called off a fixture at Blackburn after illness and injury left them short of fit players. The Premier League ruled the club had no right to postpone the game on its own.
The punishment was three points.
The consequences
- Relegation: That season Middlesbrough went down by just two points. Without the deduction, they would have stayed up.
- A lost era: Boro had one of the most exciting squads in the country, with Juninho, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Emerson. They reached both domestic cup finals that year and lost both. Relegation broke up the team.
- The legacy: Nearly thirty years on, it remains one of the most brutal calls in Premier League history, and a reminder that three points can end a club’s season.
Total cost: 3 points and their Premier League status.
Fulham: A £75,000 Lesson
What happened
In April 2024, Fulham accepted they had broken player registration rules over Fabio Carvalho. When Carvalho was sold to Liverpool in 2022, Fulham made a settlement payment to Balham, the grassroots club where he played as a boy. League rules didn’t allow that payment.
Fulham were fined £75,000 and handed a six-month academy registration ban, suspended for a year.
The consequences
- Financially: Almost nothing for a Premier League club.
- In practice: The suspended ban worked as a warning. If Fulham broke the same rule again within a year, they would lose the ability to sign academy players from other clubs, a real blow to their youth recruitment.
- In the table: No change at all.
Total cost: £75,000 and a warning.
Brighton: Punished, But Praised
What happened
Brighton breached the league’s Youth Development Rules, but they spotted the problem themselves and reported it. The club said they had originally believed they were following the rules.
They were fined £20,000 plus costs and given the same suspended six-month academy ban as Fulham.
The consequences
- The mitigation: The Premier League publicly thanked Brighton for their cooperation and said it had significantly reduced the sanction.
- The reputation: For a club famous for developing young talent, it was an embarrassing moment, but self-reporting kept both the punishment and the damage small.
Total cost: £20,000 plus costs.
Leeds and Aston Villa: The Clock Watchers
What happened
Not every breach happens in the accounts. Under Rule L.33, clubs must kick off and restart after half-time exactly on schedule, largely to keep TV broadcasts on time.
- Leeds United accepted nine breaches last season, with delays of between 1 minute 17 seconds and 2 minutes 50 seconds. The fines escalated with each offence and reached a total of £530,000.
- Aston Villa also accepted nine breaches during 2025-26. Their fines started at £5,000 and rose to £150,000 for the final offence, a total of £570,000.
Crystal Palace have also been sanctioned in the past for late restarts.
The consequences
- Rising costs: The fines escalate every time, so each new delay costs more than the last. Leeds are now on notice that a further breach will cost at least £100,000.
- No sporting punishment: Not a single point was taken from either club.
Total cost: over £1 million in fines between them. Zero points.
The Scoreboard So Far
Only three clubs on this list have lost points:
| Club | Points deducted | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Everton | 8 | Survived, then paid Burnley £35.1m |
| Nottingham Forest | 4 | Survived in 17th |
| Middlesbrough | 3 | Relegated by two points |
And Now, City
Which brings us to the Etihad. On Friday, reports revealed that Manchester City had been found guilty on 114 of 115 charges. Their punishment is still to be decided, and City are expected to appeal.
Everton lost eight points for two breaches. Forest lost four for one. Middlesbrough lost their place in the league for one missed fixture.
Every club on this list now knows exactly what a Premier League punishment feels like. The only question left is what 114 is worth.
Let the game begin.
