The Premier League risks losing credibility in the face of points deductions for financial breaches, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
Everton and Nottingham Forest have received points deductions of six and four respectively this season for breaches of the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Forest received a deduction on Monday, which left them in the relegation zone, a point behind 17th-placed Luton Town, after they admitted a breach of the rules.
Everton, meanwhile, were initially deducted 10 points in November for a breach of the rules in the 2021-22 reporting period, before that was reduced to six on appeal. The Toffees sit 16th, having not won in 11 league matches, though Sean Dyche's team might yet have to grapple with another deduction, with the club having been charged with a breach in the 2022-23 financial reporting period.
Maguire fears for the Premier League's reputation in response to the deductions, with Championship side Leicester City also charged by the league on Thursday for PSR breaches during their time in the top flight, while Manchester City are facing 115 charges for potential financial discrepancies. Chelsea are under investigation for potential off-book dealings, while the Blues could be under pressure to sell players before the end of June in order to come under the threshold in their next set of accounts.
"I think the credibility of the Premier League as an organisation which is capable of governing itself has taken quite a few knocks recently," Maguire told Stats Perform.
"There is now news coming out that the independent regulator bill, the football governance bill, will be placed before parliament. That's a further blow to the Premier League in terms of its ability to be seen as a self-governing organisation.
"The Premier League hasn't come out of these cases particularly well. You wait years and years for a PSR judgement and then you get two in two months. Then we've got the Manchester City case which is probably going to take another 12 months."
Maguire joked: "You've got people outside the stadium that won't be selling programs and shirts, they'll be selling asterisks because there is so much uncertainty."
Maguire also explained that perceived superior cooperation with the Premier League from Forest is the reason for their smaller deduction compared to Everton, despite the midlands club having overspent by £34.5million, compared to the Toffees' breach of £19.5m.
He said: "Forest have been given a three-point penalty for breaking the rules, and another three points for going so far over the limit.
"But because Forest has cooperated and made the life of the commission relatively straightforward, we're going to effectively knock off two points for good behaviour. So that's why we've ended up with this final deduction of four points compared to Everton's six."
Maguire also pointed out that Forest did have other circumstances to contend with.
"Anybody that follows football knows that Forest were promoted with effectively six or seven players remaining in the squad because players were out of contract, a lot of players on loan. Therefore, they had to spend a lot of money on recruitment," he said.
"Their argument also is that if you want to survive in the Premier League, and survival was just as hard as getting there in the first place, then you've got to spend money. They've done that."
When asked if Forest could see their penalty reduced in the same way Everton's has been, Maguire replied: "I think if we have a look at the Everton appeal, that was reduced from 10 points to six on points of law.
"The second commission said that the initial commission brought accounted for tariff factors, which weren't actually in the Premier League rules, and therefore the initial penalty was too harsh. Whether Forest can do the same, I'm uncertain.
"Forest have got seven days to have an appeal and we could be left in the pretty awful scenario that the appeal is heard in late April, then the verdict is announced four or five days after the end of the season. I think the integrity of the game would be tarnished if we do end up in that situation."
Paris Saint-Germain 3-3 Le Havre: Ramos rescues point but title confirmation must wait
Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 3-3 draw at home to relegation-battling Le Havre on Saturday and will need to wait before confirming their 12th Ligue 1 title.
PSG would have clinched the title with three games to spare with a victory. They have a 12-point gap over second-placed Monaco, who are at Lyon on Sunday, and a goal difference of 47 to Monaco's 18.
The away side opened the scoring in the 19th minute through Christopher Operi and PSG levelled 10 minutes later with Bradley Barcola scoring, but Le Havre went ahead again seven minutes before the break when Andre Ayew found the net.
Le Havre made it 3-1 with an Abdoulaye Toure penalty in the 61st minute, before Achrif Hakimi gave PSG hope with a goal 12 minutes from time and Goncalo Ramos levelled in added time. Le Havre are 15th on 29 points.
Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea: Gallagher caps Blues fightback at Villa Park
Conor Gallagher scored the equaliser as Chelsea fought back from two goals down to clinch a deserved 2-2 draw with Champions League-chasing Aston Villa on Saturday.
Villa looked set to go nine points clear of Tottenham in the race to finish in the Premier League's top four, with Marc Cucurella's own goal and Morgan Rogers' low drive giving them a handsome half-time lead.
Mauricio Pochettino's men dominated much of the first half without reward, but they continued to press after the interval and cultured finishes from Noni Madueke and Gallagher dragged them level.
They almost completed a fine comeback in stoppage time, but there was relief for Villa when referee Craig Pawson disallowed a goal for Chelsea defender Axel Disasi following a VAR review due to an infringement from Benoit Badiashile.
It meant Villa boss Unai Emery was unable to celebrate his new long-term contract with three points, with his team now seven points clear of fifth-placed Spurs, who have three games in hand on their rivals.
Chelsea stay ninth and are five points adrift of the top seven, but with a game in hand to come, their European hopes are not yet over.
Villa made a flying start and were ahead within four minutes, albeit in somewhat fortunate circumstances. John McGinn didn't get a clean connection on Lucas Digne's left-wing cutback, but his shot bounced off Cucurella and into the net.
Chelsea thought they were level after 16 minutes as Nicolas Jackson raced clear to finish into the roof of the net, but his strike was disallowed for offside after a VAR review, with replays showing he was leaning beyond Matty Cash.
Jackson should then have equalised when found by Cucurella six yards out, but he could only send his header against the foot of the post and wide.
Villa then doubled their lead against the run of play shortly before half-time, with Djordje Petrovic powerless as Rogers squeezed his shot through Trevoh Chalobah's legs and in.
A hamstring injury saw Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez withdrawn at half-time, and his replacement Robin Olsen was beaten after 62 minutes, Madueke stroking home after Gallagher forced a high turnover.
Olsen stuck out an arm to deny Madueke a second with 71 minutes gone, but he had no chance as the Blues levelled with nine minutes to play, Gallagher rifling a left-footed finish into the top-left corner.
Chelsea thought they had won it when Disasi headed home five minutes into stoppage time, but referee Pawson disallowed the goal following a VAR review, with Badiashile adjudged to have fouled Diego Carlos in the build-up.
Villa throw it away
Villa could hardly have wished for a stronger position at half-time. Despite Chelsea carving out several good openings, they found themselves 2-0 up and primed to exploit their opponents further through the pace of Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey.
Chelsea had lost 16 of their previous 18 Premier League games when trailing at half-time (one win, one draw), losing their last eight when two or more goals behind at the break.
However, Emery's men simply didn't get going after the restart, and only a late VAR review saved them from a crushing defeat, with Disasi's potential winner chalked off for a foul by fellow defender Badiashile.
Gallagher leads from the front
Gallagher has polarised opinion at times this season, but Chelsea's stand-in skipper produced a talismanic display just when his team needed him most at Villa Park.
The England international is known for his tenacious work out of possession, and he forced a turnover on the corner of the Villa box in the build-up to Madueke's goal.
Gallagher's own strike, which flew into the top corner to stun the home faithful, took him to double figures for Premier League goal involvements for the season (four goals, six assists). He has only achieved that feat in one other campaign in the competition, scoring eight goals and adding three assists on loan at Crystal Palace in 2021-22.
Four of his seven Premier League goals for Chelsea, meanwhile, have now come from outside the area.
Chelsea Women 0-2 Barcelona Femeni (1-2 agg): Holders reach Champions League final again
Women's Champions League holders Barcelona overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to reach a fourth straight final on Saturday, beating 10-player Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Emma Hayes' hopes of ending her glittering spell with the Blues by lifting the Champions League trophy were dashed in heartbreaking fashion in front of a sell-out crowd in West London.
Barca went ahead through Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati 26 minutes in, the diminutive Spaniard seeing her shot deflect off Kadeisha Buchanan to beat Hannah Hampton.
The hosts pushed for a response as Sjoeke Nuksen struck the post, but their position worsened just before the hour mark as Buchanan was perhaps harshly shown a second yellow card for her tackle on Salma Paralluelo.
Barca penned their hosts back from there and Bonmati was decisive again as they inched ahead with 15 minutes to play, drawing a foul from Ashley Lawrence and allowing Fridolina Rolfo to convert from the penalty spot.
Jonatan Giraldez's team have won two of the last three editions of the Champions League, also losing in the final to Lyon in 2021-22. They could be reunited with Les Lyonnaises in next month's final in Bilbao, as they hold a 3-2 lead over Paris Saint-Germain at the halfway stage of the other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Bonmati caps trademark Barca performance
Aided by Buchanan's red card, Barcelona showcased their mastery of possession-based football at Stamford Bridge, enjoying 67.8 per cent of the possession and completing over twice as many passes as Chelsea (583 to 224).
Bonmati was at the centre of everything for the Blaugrana, playing a key role in both goals as well as laying on two chances for team-mates and playing 31 passes in the final third – no Chelsea player recorded more than 11.
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