SUPER Eagles of Nigeria stars Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina are still battling relegation from the English Premier League with their club Nottingham Forest with the season winding down.
Forest have failed with an appeal against their four-point deduction for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and are just one spot and three points clear of the drop zone with two games left to play.
If the appeal had succeeded, they would have been guaranteed of safety as they would have had a seven-point gap on the relegation places.
The club’s case was held on April 24 and an appeal board has upheld the original decision of an independent commission to impose the sanction.
The commission found Forest’s losses in 2022/2023 breached the threshold of £61m by £34.5m.
The BBC reported that the three-person appeal board arrived at a ‘unanimous’ decision to uphold the original ruling by the commission, describing it as ‘commendably clear and comprehensive’.
“Some of the criticisms of the [original] decision have involved a minute examination of the words used by the commission,” the board said of Forest’s appeal.
“Decisions such as these should not be subjected to microscopic forensic examination and interpreted as if they were statutes which have been drafted by parliamentary counsel.
“Allegations of infelicities of language or errors which are not material to the ultimate decision add to the complexity and costs of proceedings and are rarely likely to lead to a successful challenge of a decision.”
Super Eagles striker Awoniyi joined Forest from Union Berlin in July 2022 for a then club record €20.5m, while defender Aina made the move from Torino as a free agent last July.
