Gary Lineker explains Leicester City’s problems but knows ‘catastrophic’ scenario has been avoided

Leicester City avoided a “catastrophe” to secure their place in the Premier League but the rules that could send them back are “ridiculous”, says Gary Lineker.

City face a points deduction for allegedly breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations, while they may have to sell players before the end of June to comply with EFL rules. But failure to be promoted would have exacerbated those problems, Lineker believes.

One of Leicester’s favorite sons, the striker turned Match of the Day host believes City have been a victim of their own success, forced to pay higher wages after back-to-back top-five finishes. And he says the restrictive nature of the financial rules prevents teams coming from the Championship to properly challenge the established top teams.

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“It was a brilliant season. Leicester did what they had to do, they stood up, they won the league,” Lineker told William Hill at the FWA Awards. “But obviously everyone at the club is worried about the financial side of things and whether they will have to sell players. They might even get a points deduction.

“Leicester are suffering for their own success because they have won the league and finished fifth in two consecutive seasons. To maintain this position, they fell wrong by having to pay enormous wages.

“If they’ve made mistakes they’ll have to own it – it’s a concern for all Leicester fans. But the important thing was to get back up because even if you get the point drop and get relegated, you’ll still be able to get back up. If he hadn’t stepped up this season, it would have been catastrophic.

“It’s ridiculous, the situation with Premier League football, that the teams that get promoted can’t really compete. But if there’s no points deduction and they don’t have to sell any players, I think Leicester can stay up.”

It has been nine weeks since City were first charged by the Premier League, which is the time it takes for a decision to be made on Nottingham Forest’s charge. A decision on City’s fate is expected before the start of the new campaign in mid-August.

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