The Premier League has “punished” Nottingham Forest for showing ambition upon promotion, according to former Reds manager Mark Warburton.
The Reds were deducted four points on Monday for violating profit and sustainability rules by £34.5 million.
Clubs can lose £105 million over three years, but Forest’s maximum loss was limited to £61 million because they spent two years of the assessment period in the Championship.
“Here’s a club that had a go, for want of a better term,” Warburton said.
“There are teams that have come up, not really reacted, not strengthened the squad, taken the money and been immediately relegated,” Warburton told BBC Radio Nottingham.
“They are obviously in a stronger financial position, but is that really what the Premier League money is for?”
Forest made a surprise return to the Premier League in 2022, following a 23-year hiatus.
Despite languishing at the bottom of the second division in September of the 2021-22 season, Steve Cooper rebuilt them into the most unexpected of Premier League-bound sides, leading them to a play-off final triumph over Huddersfield.
The showpiece event at Wembley Stadium is sometimes touted as the most lucrative game in world football, with Forest’s promotion estimated to be worth around £170 million.
Their top-flight return prompted a spending spree, signing a British-record 22 new players that summer – while also agreeing to five loan deals. Their net transfer spend over the 2022–23 season was £142.8 million.
When hit with the points penalty this week, which dropped Forest into the relegation zone, the club said they were “extremely disappointed” with a decision they feel “raises issues of concern for all aspirant clubs”.
Warburton, the former Rangers and Brentford boss who was in charge of Forest when Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis took ownership of the club in 2017, says he “understands Forest’s frustrations and concerns”.
“Forest have gone out, bought players, and they had to do that,” he said.
“They had two years in the championship to gain promotion, and they had to spend to invest in the squad, to give themselves a real chance, a credible chance of surviving in the division.
“Forest fans will be delighted that Forest have shown that level of ambition and have strengthened the squad and spent the money.
“So I understand their frustrations. It must be very galling that they have done what they think is the right thing, and yet are being punished in this manner.”
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