Leicester City face a crucial hearing this week which will ultimately decide if they are to be given a points deduction in the Sky Bet Championship this season.
The independent commission hearing into alleged breaches of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) will begin later this week, with lawyers from both sides expected to give evidence for around two days.
No timescale has been given for the commission to reach its decision, but all parties are keen to see the matter resolved quickly, and SportNews News has been told a result could come before Christmas, or early in the new year.
If the Premier League-appointed commission decides to impose a sporting sanction, for the first time ever that punishment can be enacted by the EFL, which would mean Leicester being given a points penalty this season, whilst they are in the Championship.
Until there was a change in the rules last year, punishments were league-specific, in the sense that they had to be served in the competition where the breach occurred.
Leicester had previously claimed when they faced PSR charges in September 2024 that the Premier League had no jurisdiction to punish the club after they were relegated from the top division, because having dropped into the Championship, they were no longer bound by the Premier League's rules.
Leicester won that legal battle, but their victory led both the EFL and Premier League to alter their regulations, so that no club could use such a defence in future.
Leicester will face three separate charges this time: breaching the PSR limit in season 2023-24 when the club was last in the Championship; failing to file their annual accounts with the Premier League before the December 31 deadline; breaching an explicit rule in the League's handbook which gives all clubs an "obligation to provide full, complete and prompt assistance to the Premier League."
Independent commentators have told SportNews News Leicester's defence is likely to focus on the principle that the second two charges hold no weight: having won their case in the courts to say the Premier League was acting beyond its jurisdiction, they feel they were equally under no obligation to provide their accounts by the allotted time.
As such, they may be able to argue there is no validity in the suggestion that they were failing to co-operate with the football authorities.
However, there is added complication here because following Leicester's successful appeal, the Premier League took the case to arbitration, and in May 2025 that panel found in the League's favour: "Jurisdiction to investigate the alleged breach… is, therefore, established."
It was this decision by the arbitration panel that led the Premier League to bring the three new charges that Leicester are now facing.
It is difficult to predict what punishment Leicester might receive if the independent commission goes against them, especially because the exact size of Leicester's breach of PSR rules has never been made public. However, a nine-point penalty is a distinct possibility - three points for each of the three charges.
Breaching the PSR limit by more than £20m carries an automatic three-point penalty under the rules, with three further points being deducted if the Premier League wins each of its other arguments - that Leicester failed to submit their accounts on time, and that they didn't co-operate fully with the League.
If the Championship club were to be given such a hefty penalty, SportNews News has been told it is expected they will appeal.
There has been no comment from Leicester, the EFL or the Premier League on the matter, with each observing their obligation of confidentially while the disciplinary process plays out.
