EVERTON have plunged into a Premier League relegation battle after being hit with a 10-point deduction for breaching FFP rules.
The Premier League has called for the punishment after Everton recorded heavy financial losses over the past three years.
And the Toffees are now only one place off 20th due to their goal difference as a result.
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FSA on Everton’s sanction
The FSA (Football Supporters’ Association) has claimed that football needs an independent regulator urgently after Everton’s 10-point deduction.
A statement reads: “The FSA has always argued that football needs an independent regulator with real time powers to intervene before clubs get themselves into positions where a points deduction is handed out.
“Today’s news once again shows the urgent need for the Government to deliver an independent regulator for football as soon as possible. This shouldn’t be happening.
“We’ve seen far too many clubs across the game find themselves in financial trouble and our sympathy is always with the supporters – they didn’t create the problems but they are punished alongside their club.”
Everton should take it, says Southall
Neville Southall believes Everton should accept their 10-point deduction and “suck it up”.
He told BBC Radio Five Live: “It has been coming so it is no surprise. But at the end of the day they knew it was coming and if they are doing Everton they are doing other clubs as well. Otherwise, it is discrimination against one club.
“All it will do is galvanise the players, the manager and the fans into one, which is a good thing, but they must appeal as that is what everyone does.
“However, if I was them I would just take it and get it out of the way. They are playing well and the Premier League is not a great league from the bottom half down, so we have a chance of winning that little bit of a league. It sounds harsh and horrendous but if you broke the rules, you broke the rules – just suck it up.”
Supercomputer predicts final Premier League table
A supercomputer has predicted the Premier League table at the end of the season after Everton’s points deduction.
The prediction sees the Toffees just survive relegation and finish in 17th place.
It means that Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United will return to the Championship after one season.
Star reacts to news
Everton youth star Bradley Moonan has reacted to the news about the club’s sanction on social media.
Where are Everton in the league?
Since Everton have been hit with a ten point deduction they have dropped from their spot in 14th in the Premier League.
The club now sits 19th with only four points.
The club remain off the bottom of the table on goal difference.
Stars could jump ship
Everton could lose a host of star names after being hit with a 10-point deduction by the Premier League.
Sun Sport has looked at SEVEN potential star men who could leave Sean Dyche’s squad over the coming months following the blockbuster news.
The list includes the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jordan Pickford and Dwight McNeil.
How long do Everton have to appeal?
Everton have seven days to lodge their appeal against the sanctions imposed on them.
After that an appeal board will be appointed and then the Premier League have seven days to respond to the appeal.
An appeal date will then be put in place and this should be before the end of the season.
What about Chelsea and Man City?
Chelsea and Manchester City face the threat of RELEGATION, according to a former financial advisor to the Etihad club.
Following Everton’s sanctions Stefan Borson, a legal expert, believes both clubs could be booted out of the top flight.
Borson tweeted: “Without seeing the judgement/award -10 points for Everton feels harsh for a straightforward FFP breach to me.
“But reinforces that sanctions against City [if proven] and now Chelsea [if charged and admitted on the off-books payments] will be potentially relegation inducing.
“One thing is for sure, given the scale of this sporting sanction, Chelsea’s calculus (in my opinion) that they could breach Premier League profit and sustainability and just take a fine as a cost of doing business, must be in urgent and immediate reconsideration.
“The January window may be interesting. Even in the best case, they can no longer rely on being able to convince an Independent Commission to accept their Covid and Sanctions allowances as exceptional adjustments (to the extent that was the plan).”
Clubs ‘could sue’ Everton
Three clubs are planning to sue Everton after they were found guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play rules, according to reports.
But the punishment of a 10 point deduction may not be enough for Leicester, Burnley and Leeds.
All three have been on the wrong end of relegation battles with Everton over the past two years.
According to The Mail, they are seeking as much as £300MILLION – with each club estimating they lost £100m from their respective relegations to the Championship.
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.
And it is now being reported they met on Friday afternoon to reaffirm their plan to sue Everton.
Merson’s view on sanction
Paul Merson has tweeted following Everton’s sanction and claimed that teams will not catch the big six if they “can’t spend”.
He wrote: “Top 6 won’t be caught if teams can’t spend money…”
What has the PL said?
The Premier League announced the decision with the following statement.
It read: “An independent Commission has imposed an immediate deduction of 10 points on Everton FC for a breach of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSRs).
“The Premier League issued a complaint against the club and referred the case to an independent Commission earlier this year.
“During the proceedings, the club admitted it was in breach of the PSRs for the period ending Season 2021/22 but the extent of the breach remained in dispute.
“Following a five-day hearing last month, the commission determined that Everton FC’s PSR Calculation for the relevant period resulted in a loss of £124.5million, as contended by the Premier League, which exceeded the threshold of £105million permitted under the PSRs.
“The commission concluded that a sporting sanction in the form of a 10-point deduction should be imposed. That sanction has immediate effect.”
Carragher slams Everton punishment
Jamie Carragher has hit out at the 10-point deduction handed to Everton calling it “excessive”.
He wrote on social media: “The 10-point deduction for Everton is excessive and not right, considering they have been working with the PL about this for the last couple of years.
“Would it have been better to be evasive and try and 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.”
One positive for Everton
With Everton’s season turned upside down and now in a relegation fight, there is one good omen for the club.
Only once has a club with four points or fewer after 12 points survived the drop.
That was Everton back in the 1994-95 season.
Everton penalised for direct loan, says expert
Kieran Maguire, a football finance expert, believes that Everton have been penalised for owner Farhad Moshiri loaning the club money himself rather than loans from high-interest banks.
Farhad Moshiri acquired the club about seven years ago. He did try to accelerate Everton through increasing player transfer, they had operated a very tight ship prior to that.
There were quite a few managerial changes and I’m sure Everton will take responsibility and say they were not completely blameless and were close to the limit.
But the Premier League decided to look at the extend of Everton’s losses were over £300 million in a three-year period but you are allowed specific deductions for investment in infrastructure, the women’s team, the community which Everton’s is unprecedented in the country.
Everton will feel these are our calculations, the Premier League decided to take a deeper look.
If Everton had borrowed money through a bank and put that money into the stadium, I think they would have been below the limit whereas they’ve borrowed money directly through the owner and this is proving to be a legal/ accounting issue rather than a footballing one.
If there was going to be a breach and a points deduction, I think most people thought it would have been in the region of 3-6.
Ten is unprecedented, Birmingham City breached financial fair play rules in the Championship a few years ago and were given a nine-point deduction. That was for a much clearer set of circumstances so you can understand why Everton are aggrieved.
Kieran Maguire
Cottee still confident
Another former Everton star, Tony Cottee, believes that Everton will manage to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
He, like Lineker, also questioned whether or not other clubs would get punishments.
He wrote: “Let’s just hope it’s not one rule for Everton and one rule for the top Clubs?!
“I still think that they’ll stay up despite the 10 pts.”
Lineker on Everton sanction
Former Everton star Gary Lineker has tweeted after Everton were docked 10 points by the Premier League.
He asked whether any other clubs would see similar punishments.
He wrote: “With Everton being docked 10 points, it will be very interesting to see if other clubs are sanctioned.”
Where does it leaves Everton?
Everton have dropped from 14th to 19th in the Premier League table, with their goal difference keeping them off the bottom.
The likes of Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Bournemouth, Luton Town and Sheffield United have all jumped up one spot.
Everton will appeal
Everton have insisted that the club will appeal the decision that it has labelled as “unjust”.
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.
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.
Club statement
What the sanction means?
Everton’s sanction means they are the first Premier League club to be hit with a points deduction for breaching FFP rules.
The Toffees have been punished for breaching profit and sustainability rules after recording financial losses of £124.5million for the 2021/22 season.
That exceeds the Premier League threshold, which permits a maximum loss of £105m for one year.
Everton hit with points deduction
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.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
