PFA threatens legal action as Premier League eyes salary caps

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has threatened the Premier League with legal action, following suggestions that the top tier of English men’s football will introduce salary caps.

Ahead of a Premier League’s shareholders meeting next week, where its new financial fair play regime will be on the agenda, the PFA has moved quickly to express it views by sending a letter to the league its 20 clubs, according to The Athletic.

Last summer, the clubs voted in principle to bring in the squad cost rule (SCR). The rule, which is already used by UEFA, limits clubs to spending no more than 85% of their total income on wages for their senior players and coaches, amortised transfer spend and agents’ fees.

This will replace the leagues profit and sustainability rules (PSR) which have resulted in point deductions for Premier League teams in the past few years, and been noted as the cause for clubs’ reduced transfer spend in recent windows.

However, it seems that the league is eyeing further constraints to ensure competitive balance across one of football’s biggest competitions.

Known as ‘anchoring’, the rule would set a hard cap on how much any team can spend on its squad, with the cap being a multiple of the central payment the league makes to the team that finishes 20th in the table. The Athletic has previously reported the league believes a multiple of five would be enough to stop the top clubs from monopolising all the best players without putting them at a disadvantage against their European rivals.

This suggestion has led to the PFA, the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales, to respond, believing that the rule would clearly apply a hard limit on how much clubs can spend on wages, regardless of their own ability to meet the costs.

It is thought that a number of the Premier League’s strongest and richest clubs also oppose, with concerns around the impact the rule would have on their ability to compete with other top European sides in the UEFA Champions Leagues and Europa League.

The Premier League needs support from two thirds of its 20 member clubs to introduce the new rule.

The Athletic reports that although no final decision has been made, anchoring was approved in principle by the clubs at last summer’s annual general meeting and is running ‘in shadow’ this season.

If implemented, rule changes could impact player contracts which would require agreement from the Professional Football Negotiating and Consultative Committee (PFNCC), a body comprising of the PFA, Premier League, English Football League and League Managers’ Association.

The PFA has previously blocked an EFL attempt to introduce hard salary caps in Leagues One and Two in 2021 on the grounds that the league had not gone through the proper PFNCC process.