EVERTON have been hit with a 10-point deduction by the Premier League for breaching profit and sustainability rules.
The sanction takes place with immediate effect which means the Toffees drop five places and are now in the relegation zone – and only off the bottom thanks to goal difference.
Everton’s sanction means they are the first Premier League team to be hit with a points deduction for breaching FFP rules.
The club have been punished for breaching profit and sustainability rules after recording financial losses of £44.7million for the 2021-22 season – bringing their three-year total to £124.5m
That exceeds the Premier League threshold, which permits a maximum loss of £105m across three years, by £19.5m.
Everton have released a statement revealing their intention to appeal the decision, which they claim is “unjust”.
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The statement reads: “Everton Football Club is both shocked and disappointed by the ruling of the Premier League’s Commission.
“The Club believes that the commission has imposed a wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction. The club has already communicated its intention to appeal the decision to the Premier League. The appeal process will now commence and the club’s case will be heard by an Appeal Board appointed pursuant to the Premier League’s rules in due course.
“Everton maintains that it has been open and transparent in the information it has provided to the Premier League and that it has always respected the integrity of the process.
“The club does not recognise the finding that it failed to act with the utmost good faith and it does not understand this to have been an allegation made by the Premier League during the course of proceedings. Both the harshness and severity of the sanction imposed by the Commission are neither a fair nor a reasonable reflection of the evidence submitted.
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Everton points deduction
EVERTON have become the first Premier League team to be deducted points for breaching Financial Fair Play regulations for profit and sustainability.
The Toffees’ ten-point hit comes after an independent Commission determined Everton recorded losses of £124.5million as per Premier League regulation calculations over the three years up to 2021-22 – exceeding the permitted £105m limit.
The Goodison Park club have posted financial deficits for five years in a row.
Manchester City are fighting 115 charges of FFP breaches put forward by the Premier League last season.
Only two clubs in Premier League history have been docked points.
Middlesbrough saw three points deducted in 1996-97 for failing to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn.
In March 2010, Portsmouth had nine points stripped for entering administration.
Both Middlesbrough and Portsmouth were relegated following their respective points punishments.
The ten-point deduction drops Everton to 19th in the Premier League table, level on four points with bottom-club Burnley.
“The club will also monitor with great interest the decisions made in any other cases concerning the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
“Everton cannot comment on this matter any further until the appeal process has concluded.”
Sean Dyche has overseen four wins from 12 games this season but his side are now 19th, sandwiched between bottom-placed Burnley and Sheffield United.
Boyhood Evertonian Jamie Carragher slammed the Premier League’s decision, claiming the punishment is “excessive”.
He said: “The 10-point deduction for Everton is excessive and not right, considering they have been working with the Premier League about this for the last couple of years.
“Would it have been better to be evasive & try & drag it out like other clubs?
“No doubt relegated clubs will have put big pressure on the PL to deal with Everton, but when you consider 6 clubs tried to leave the PL and there was no sanction at all it doesn’t feel right.
“Until other clubs are sanctioned Everton will feel they are being used to show there is no need for an independent regulator, and they are right.”
Everton’s sanction has led some to consider whether other clubs could face a similar punishment – Manchester City were charged with breaching 115 regulations over 14 season from 2009/10 to last season.
One former financial advisor to City has claimed the club could be relegated if hit with similar sanctions by the Premier League.
Fans are convinced City could be demoted to the National League given the number of charges they face.
Gary Lineker reacted by saying: “With Everton being docked 10 points it will be very interesting to see if other clubs are sanctioned.”
Leicester, Burnley and Leeds could reportedly sue Everton for £300m – with each club estimating they lost £100m from their respective relegations to the Championship last season.
It is understood the three sides contacted 777 Partners – the Merseyside outfit’s new owners – to state their intention to sue if they were found guilty.
Everton are at risk of losing seven stars due to their financial problems, including Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jordan Pickford, Dwight McNeil, Andre Onana, James Tarkowski and Vitaliy Mykolenko.
Despite their issues, the Toffees have still been tipped to survive by a Premier League supercomputer.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
