Premier League urged to deduct points from Aston Villa amid ‘ridiculous’ development
Aston Villa’s season could be under threat before a ball has even been kicked.
With Villa’s PSR concerns being dealt with by Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, supporters looked as though they could look forward to the new Premier League season without worrying about things going on behind the scenes.
With players such as Ferran Torres being linked to Villa Park, the West Midlands club are clearly showing their ambition to return to the Champions League.
A sale of a notable player like Morgan Rogers has the potential to derail Unai Emery’s plans if the midfielder is not replaced adequately.
Aston Villa points deduction claim made after UEFA verdict
Ollie Watkins is another player rumoured to be leaving B6, with Manchester United interested in the striker.
The bad news does not stop there for Villa supporters, however, with UEFA finding Villa guilty of failing to comply with their football earnings rule.
Villa must pay £9.5million in fines, and if they fail to comply with their three-year settlement, they could be hit with a further penalty of up to £13m more.
The Villans were not the only side to be fined, with Chelsea and Barcelona also punished.
Speaking on talkSPORT (5 July), Rory Jennings claimed that fines are not harsh enough incentives for not following the rules, and point deductions instead must be sanctioned.
“This is ridiculous,” Jennings said.
“It’s almost in your interest to commit the offence and then just take the fine.
“Until you start punishing football clubs where it hurts, which is, for most football clubs that are going to be found guilty of these kinds of offences, it’s only worth punishing them with points on the board because the fines are insignificant.”
Premier League unable to deduct points from Villa
As this incident happened in a UEFA competition and not the Premier League, Villa would be unable to have points deducted in their domestic league.
Jennings’ point arguably still stands if the clubs faced a European points deduction, then they would be more likely to play by the rules.
A point deduction would potentially derail Villa’s Europa League campaign before it even began, with the group stage being virtually impossible to escape if a hefty points deduction were implemented.
Due to the relatively small nature of the fine, it is unlikely it will significantly affect Villa’s business in the summer transfer window, with the club still able to pursue a deal for Marco Asensio.
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