Villa owner: Financial rules ‘not good for football’

Aston Villa owner Nassef Sawiris says the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules are “not good for football”.

Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked eight and four points respectively last season for breaching PSR. Under the rules, losses cannot exceed £105m over the three-year assessment period, or a reduced figure if that club were outside the Premier League for any part of that period.

A move to raise the threshold to £135m – reportedly brought forward by Villa – is understood to have been defeated at last week’s top flight annual general meeting.

Sawiris said: “Some of the rules have actually resulted in cementing the status quo more than creating upward mobility and fluidity in the sport.

“The rules do not make sense and are not good for football.”

It is thought that Sawiris is considering a legal action against the rules. Manchester City are currently challenging the league’s associated party transaction (APT) regulations, which are designed to ensure all commercial deals with entities linked to a club’s ownership represent fair market value.

“Managing a sports team has become more like being a treasurer or a bean counter rather than looking at what your team needs,” Sawiris said.

“It’s more about creating paper profits, not real profits. It becomes a financial game, not a sporting game.”

Villa were one of three teams – along with City and Manchester United – to vote against moving forward with plans for a hard Premier League spending cap.

The proposal, called top-to-bottom anchoring, will operate in shadow form in next season’s Premier League and must meet the approval of the Professional Footballers’ Association, which has said it would oppose the introduction of any measure which amounts to a salary cap.

The PSR are set to remain in place for at least next season.

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