Chris Wood's premier league club Nottingham Forest have dropped into the English Premier League's relegation zone after the club was deducted four points for breaking financial rules last season.
The deduction, announced by the league, leaves Forest in 18th place in the standings with 21 points, one behind Luton Town and four clear of 19th-placed Burnley.
Wood, who recently scored his 150th English League goal, is Forest's leading scorer this season with nine.
The EPL said an independent commission had applied the immediate deduction after a two-day hearing "for a breach of the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules for the period ending season 2022/23."
The statement noted that Forest had admitted to breaching the threshold of £61 million (NZ$128m) by £34.5m (NZ$72m).
English Premier League clubs are allowed to lose £105m over three seasons but two years of Forest's assessment period were spent in the second tier EFL Championship, meaning they could lose only a maximum of £61m.
The EPL said the club, who were promoted from the Championship in May 2022 and charged last January, had demonstrated 'exceptional cooperation' in their dealings with the Premier League throughout the process.
Forest are the second Premier League club to be deducted points this season for finance breaches, with Everton having 10 taken away in November before the sanction was reduced to six on appeal this month.
Reuters
