– All Premier League clubs are assessed for their compliance with the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSRs) each year.
– Compliance is assessed by reference to the club’s PSR Calculation, which is the aggregate of its Adjusted Earnings Before Tax for the relevant assessment period.
– A club’s Adjusted Earnings Before Tax figure for each season takes account of its profit or loss after depreciation and interest, but before tax, and then applies a series of ‘add backs’. 
– These ‘add backs’ are costs that the Premier League and its clubs recognise to be in the general interest of the club and football, for example investment in infrastructure, community, women’s football, youth development and depreciation of tangible fixed assets Exceptionally, in relation to years 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 COVID-19 costs were also permitted to be included as ‘add backs’.
– Ordinarily, a club’s PSR Calculation is the aggregate of its Adjusted Earnings Before Tax over a three-year period. Following amendments made to the PSRs during COVID-19, the relevant figures for Seasons 2019/20 and 2020/21 are now averaged. In the present cases, therefore, the relevant period includes Seasons 2022/2023, 2021/2022, and the average Adjusted Earnings Before Tax for Seasons 2020/2021 and 2019/20.
– A club will be in breach of the PSRs if its PSR Calculation over the relevant period results in a loss in excess of £105million.
– At the 2023 Annual General Meeting, clubs agreed to bring forward the date for the submission of audited Annual Accounts for clubs forecasting a loss to 31 December (in accordance to Rule E.50.2).
– Clubs agreed to introduce Standard Directions for PSR cases (Appendix 1 to the Rules) that seek to ensure such cases are resolved in the same season the complaint is issued, with any sanction handed down prior to the subsequent Annual General Meeting. This provides certainty for the League, its member clubs and other stakeholders as to the membership of the League in the subsequent Season (Appendix 1 page 533).
– The part of EFC’s case that related to its admitted breach proceeded in accordance with the new Standard Directions, set out at Appendix 1 to the Rules.
– As the decision records, there remains a dispute between the Premier League and the club as to the status of certain costs that the club says are associated with its stadium construction. The League considers that these costs fall to be considered as a loss for the purposes of the PSRs. The club contends that these costs are not losses, given that they relate to the construction of the stadium and have been capitalised in their audited accounts. This issue, and the question of whether any additional sanction should be applied, will be resolved by the same Commission at a later date.

Premier League investigations, independent Commissions and Appeals  

– The Premier League Board has the power to investigate any suspected or alleged breach of Premier League Rules .
– There are a number of options available to the Board where it suspects or alleges a breach of the Rules. For PSR cases, the matter will be handed to an independent Commission to determine whether there is a breach and, if so, what the sanction should be.
– The League has access to an independent Judicial Panel, comprising a number of legal, financial and other experts. Members of the Judicial Panel are appointed, in accordance with Premier League Rules W.19, W.20 and W.26, by its independent Chair, Murray Rosen KC, an experienced barrister. It is the Chair who selects members of the Judicial Panel to sit on Commissions, which are independent of the Premier League and its clubs.
– All proceedings before an independent Commission are confidential and heard in private. This includes the date and location which can’t be announced in advance.
– There are a range of sanctions available to the independent Commission which include fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions.
– Under Premier League Rule W.82.2, at the conclusion of proceedings, an independent Commission’s final decision will be made public via the Premier League’s website .
– A party to the proceedings which wishes to challenge a decision of the Commission may to do so under Section W of the Premier League Rules.
– The Appeal Board is also appointed by Mr Murray Rosen KC and must have three members, one of whom should have held judicial office, and would sit as the chair of the Appeal Board.
– The proceedings of the Appeal Board are also confidential and heard in private.
– The Appeal Board has wide discretion in respect of the appeal, and may allow it, dismiss it, or make any order that it deems fit (including varying the order of Commission).
– For further information on the disciplinary process, please see Section W of the Premier League Handbook.

Players from Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Spurs get DOUBLE POINTS!

Malo Gusto (Chelsea) £4.3m
Chelsea’s full-back faces an Everton side who have scored only three goals in their last seven matches on the road. Gusto’s 29 key passes and seven big chances created both rank fourth among team-mates this season, highlighting his potential for assists.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) £13.4m
The Egyptian’s ability to produce huge hauls looks set to pose major problems for Liverpool’s visitors Crystal Palace this weekend. Salah has registered eight double-figure returns in 2023/24 Fantasy, including 13 points against the Eagles in Gameweek 16.

Cole Palmer (Chelsea) £6.1m
Chelsea’s summer signing is among the very best armband contenders at home to Everton. Palmer has delivered a double-digit haul in each of his last three matches at Stamford Bridge, producing six goals and an assist on his way to 48 points.

Erling Haaland (Man City) £14.3m
Manchester City’s Norwegian plays a Luton Town side who have conceded a league-high 38 goals in away matches in 2023/24. Haaland’s total of 16 big chances in home matches is at least twice the total of any team-mate.

Ivan Toney (Brentford) £8.1m
Brentford’s forward can exploit a Sheff Utd side who have conceded 16 goals in their last five contests. Toney’s 14 shots and 11 shots in the box over the last four Gameweeks both place among the top three forwards in Fantasy.

Wolves fans, of course, are both aware and appreciative of this enthusiastic way that Gomes goes about his work. The club were looking for a player with exactly that kind of spirit, and signing Gomes has been good news on the pitch – and could well be good news for the bank balance.

There is talk of interest from Manchester United, who this season have clearly missed the lung power of the much maligned Fred. So could Gomes be heading further north? It is just as well that he has got used to the cold.

A home match against Tottenham Hotspur hands Alexander Isak (£7.9m) the chance to extend his prolific run of home form in Gameweek 33 of Fantasy Premier League.

The Newcastle United forward has scored in each of his last five appearances at St James’ Park, earning 44 points thanks to six goals and an assist.

Isak is picked in a 3-4-3 formation, with Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) handed the armband and Erling Haaland (£14.3m) named as vice-captain.

Gabriel (Arsenal) £5.4m
The Brazilian takes on Aston Villa on the back of six clean sheets in Arsenal’s last eight matches. Since Gameweek 21, Gabriel’s set-piece totals of two goals and 16 shots each place him among the top two players in Fantasy, while his 14 headed shots are five more than any other player.

Lewis Dunk (Brighton) £5.2m
Brighton & Hove Albion’s centre-back can profit at both ends of the pitch at Burnley. Dunk has amassed 38 points in the Seagulls’ last seven outings, combining a goal and an assist with three clean sheets.

“I was having too many touches on the ball,” explained Gomes. “This could harm my team, but at first I didn’t realise. Here, any extra touches can make your team lose a chance to launch a counter-attack. So I’m more dynamic now, with and without the ball.

“I had problems bringing the ball under control and instantly moving it in the direction that I wanted to play, and this is one of the areas where I’ve improved most.”

But there was one aspect of his play that was immediately able to flower at Wolves. The Flamengo team where he made his name was very front loaded, full of strikers and attacking midfielders. Gomes was the player who balanced out the side, running and chasing, covering space and tackling – and the side badly missed him after he made the move.

At Wolves, he has been able to get forward more. “I have more freedom because I have a relationship with the rest of the midfield. When I go forward, the others will stay back, and vice versa.”

The game where he broke forward to best effect was at Tottenham Hotspur in February, where he appeared as an element of surprise to score both goals in his team’s shock 2-1 win.

As fortune would have it, in the crowd to watch him was Dorival Junior, the new Brazil coach. Dorival was already well aware of Gomes and his virtues – he was in charge of Flamengo when they won that Libertadores in 2022.

But scoring two goals in front of the national team boss clearly did him no harm. Gomes was called up in March and made his Brazil debut in the 1-0 win against England, where he ran, covered and snapped into so many tackles that former World Cup winning winger Denilson dubbed him “the pitbull of Wembley”.