Premier League clubs ‘vote AGAINST closing PSR loophole’… despite recent backlash at Chelsea after Blues sold Stamford Bridge hotels to themselves to avoid financial rule  breaches

According to reports, the Premier League has been unsuccessful in their attempts to close a loophole that allows clubs to use profits from the sale of hotels, training grounds or other tangible assets to comply with financial fair play rules comply.

Chelsea sparked outrage in April after the west London club sold a Stamford Bridge hotel to another company that owns the club – in a bid to avoid breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) .

The consortium, led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, offloaded two hotels adjacent to the site, netting around £75.6 million – with the sale reducing the club’s losses from £248.5 million to £90.1 million after taxes, the club had said.

According to The Athletics The Premier League proposed a ban on clubs carrying out such actions at its annual general meeting at the Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate on Thursday. It appears that only eleven of the twenty clubs supported their move – less than the two-thirds majority needed to ratify a rule change.

The outlet claims the Premier League had attempted to match the EFL’s ban on using the sale of tangible assets in a club’s expenditure calculations. That ban was imposed in 2021 after several clubs sold stadiums and training grounds to themselves in an attempt to prevent PSR violations.

Chelsea sold hotels on their Stamford Bridge ground to avoid breaching Premier League rules

The Millennium and Copthorne hotels were sold to another company owned by the owners

Former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson had also claimed that Chelsea had tried to use the loophole again in May by allegedly trying to sell their Cobham training ground to themselves.

While there was outrage over Chelsea’s previous hotel sales – with club insiders claiming they let the deal go past the top – the Premier League’s move to ban teams from profiting from the loophole had failed – with clubs voting against the proposed rule. change.

The Athletic claims that member clubs felt the ‘wording of the ban was too broad’, prompting Premier League clubs to vote against the change. The report adds that the wording used did not make clear what types of non-football revenue streams could be used in a club’s profit and sustainability calculations, and which revenues should be avoided.

At the meeting, Premier League clubs also voiced their opposition to Wolves’ proposals to abolish VAR, while clubs will also trial two forms of salary caps next season, with executives agreeing to implement UEFA selection fee rules and anchoring system to be used on a ‘shadow basis’.

According to the BBCthe Premier League has released a briefing document to all 20 clubs ahead of Thursday’s AGM, explaining the reasons why it believes VAR should remain in place.

They claimed that an additional 100 incorrect refereeing decisions would be made each season if clubs voted to scrap the technology. They added a number of other reasons why the league believes VAR should stay.

Gary O’Neil’s side weren’t the only team to be disadvantaged this season by the controversial system, which was first used in the top flight in 2019. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was fined for destroying the system after a controversial incident in Newcastle. , while Jurgen Klopp said in May that he would vote to scrap VAR because ‘referees cannot use it properly’.

The league’s annual general meeting took place at the luxurious Rudding Hotel in Harrogate

Reports also claim that Chelsea were trying to sell their own Cobham training ground to themselves

Wolves formally submitted a resolution to the Premier League in May, prompting a vote on whether VAR should remain in place for the 2024-2025 season, after being on the wrong side of several controversial decisions this season .

But Wolves’ proposals were expected to fail as other clubs in the league voted against the motion and felt they simply wanted the system to be changed.

A senior source at a rival club told Mail Sport that they were in favor of video-assisted refereeing technology but would like assurances of quicker decisions from the PGMOL.

Despite this, Premier League clubs agreed to a new salary cap trial, which would begin at the start of the 2024-2025 season. The new limit will be part of several new regulations that will replace the much-criticized PSR rules.

Clubs agreed to implement UEFA’s Squad Cost Rules (SCR) and controversial ‘anchoring system’ on a ‘shadow basis’.

Former football finance consultant Stefan Borson made the claims on social media on Sunday

It was revealed that Chelsea had the highest operating loss in the league for the 2022-2023 season

The meeting also came just two days after Manchester City announced they would be taking legal action against the Premier League over concerns over the league’s rules on Associated Party Transactions (APT) – but there was no discussion of the legal battle.

Elsewhere on the agenda, Premier League newcomers Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich are also due to be confirmed as top clubs at the AGM.