Crystal Palace co-owner hits out at Premier League financial rules

LONDON, March 1 — The Premier League’s financial sustainability model is biased and restricts ambitious clubs from challenging the dominance of the so-called big six teams, Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor said.

The profit and sustainability rules (PSR) were introduced in 2013 to level the playing field and prevent clubs with rich owners from spending vast sums of money.

Clubs face the risk of point deductions for incurring losses of more than £105 million (RM628.45 million) over a three-year period or £35 million a season. However, they can balance out the outlay with the revenue they generate in that period.

Investing in youth development, women’s football, infrastructure and community work are also ways to balance out the losses in accounts and avoid sanctions.

Critics, however, say the rules have limited opportunities for smaller clubs to challenge more established teams with bigger fanbases.

“It’s clear that they’re (PSR) built to make sure that clubs who do not drive significant revenues cannot catch up …,” Textor said on Thursday, at the Financial Times Business of Football summit.

“Financial fair play is a fraud of a term, to say it’s about sustainability. Sustainability should be about the quality of your balance sheet, not ratios against your profit and loss.

“We have got three billionaires in our ownership group (at Palace). We’re not allowed to spend at the level of teams that are in the top six.”

Textor said the possible points deduction Nottingham Forest might receive for breaching PSR is “not right”.

Upon their promotion ahead of the 2022-23 season, Forest’s owner Evangelos Marinakis splashed out the cash as the club broke the record for most transfers (21) by a Premier League team in the close-season window.