Getty Images November 19, 2025, 11:29 am

The Premier League’s plans to impose a hard cap on club spending under the so-called “salary cap” are in danger of being derailed. A vote scheduled for Friday on new financial rules was urgently called off after intervention by London’s Arsenal – The Times.

The management of the Gunners issued a serious warning to other clubs and bosses of the Premier League. Arsenal have stressed that trying to implement a fixed spending cap without the consent of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is legally dangerous.

Representatives of the Londoners are convinced that if the league takes this step, the PFA will immediately file a lawsuit, and the chances of the Premier League winning this case look bleak.

Aston Villa also actively supported Arsenal’s position. Both clubs believe that imposing salary caps on players violates labor laws unless it has been agreed through a collective bargaining agreement.

The proposal to be considered involved a system of “anchoring”, where the expenses of the richest clubs would be tied to the income of the team that finished last in the league by a certain multiplier.

However, due to the threat of a protracted legal battle and a potential player strike, the vote was postponed indefinitely.

Now the Premier League is forced to find new ways to regulate financial fair play, trying to find a compromise between the big clubs, the middle peasants and the football union.