Leicester docked six points for breaching spending rules

Leicester City have been docked six points in the current Championship campaign after an independent regulatory commission found they had breached the English Football League's spending rules, the Premier League said on Thursday.

The deduction leaves Leicester 20th in the second-tier table, above the relegation zone on goal difference.

The Premier League referred Leicester to an independent commission in May over the alleged breach of EFL profitability and sustainability rules in the three years up to 2023-24. A week-long hearing took place in November.

"The commission ... determined that the club had breached the relevant (profitability and sustainability) threshold by £20.8 million ($28.19 million) over the three-year assessment period (2022-2024)," the Premier League said in a statement.

"The commission found that the club’s refusal to provide its annual accounts to the Premier League by the relevant deadline was a breach of Premier League rules."

Leicester were in 2023-24 playing in the Championship, which they won to earn a promotion to the Premier League. They were relegated back to the second-tier the next season.

The EFL said its board decided to apply the sanction to the Championship points table with immediate effect.

Leicester, without a win in their last four league matches, visit 13th-placed Birmingham City on Saturday.