The Premier League is to delay the introduction of financial rules that would limit the amount clubs can spend on players, with profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) set to stay in place for next season.
The league intends to adopt a new squad cost ratio (SCR) approach to spending controls, which would limit clubs to spending a set percentage of their income on player-related costs. SCR rules are operating in shadow form and the league had said it hoped to approve the measures before the end of this season.
Related: Premier League seeks power to access club premises during investigations
At a shareholders’ meeting in London on Thursday, clubs expressed near-unanimous support for SCR but agreed the system should continue in trial form for now.
This means PSR will probably continue for another full year despite the furore among supporters and clubs last season after a series of rulings led to Everton and Nottingham Forest being docked points.
The change in pace comes as the league faces a number of legal challenges related to its rulebook. Manchester City have started a second legal action against rules related to associated party transactions, and the Professional Footballers’ Association has warned of possible litigation if there were not greater consultation on SCR plans and related proposals on “anchoring” that would tie the amount top clubs could spend to revenues earned by the division’s last-placed side.
Clubs were understood not to have raised the issue of potential legal fees in the shareholders’ meeting, but concern had previously been aired after the league revealed legal costs of £45m over the course of last season, a sum reported to have been six times greater than the proposed budget.
As part of the SCR process, the league is to draft a collective position on how best to ensure financial sustainability among its clubs. This process is new and will be seen as a direct response to the proposed Independent Football Regulator, whose primary duty is to “promote financial stability” in English football. With legislation continuing to pass through the House of Lords, Conservative peers have recently argued a focus on sustainability may limit the ability of Premier League clubs to compete with their European rivals.
The league, the Football Association and the referees’ body the PGMOL confirmed that semi-automated offside technology will be trialled in English football during the fifth round of the FA Cup next month. As first reported by the Guardian, the system will be tested in the Cup with the hope of introducing it in league matches before the end of the season.
“Semi-automated offside technology will provide more efficient placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and produce virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters,” a joint statement read. “The operation of semi-automated offside technology does not change the accuracy of the decision-making but enhances the speed and efficiency of the process.”
