Everton have been handed an immediate 10-point deduction after being found to have breached Premier League financial rules.
The Merseyside outfit was referred to an independent commission in March, and the body has found them guilty of violating the league’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSRs) in the period ending in the 2021–22 season.
The punishment, which is the biggest ever sporting sanction melted out to a team in the history of the Premier League, sees Everton drop five spots, from 14th to 19th, as one of the three teams currently in the relegation zone with just four points.
However, the Goodison Park club has made their intentions to appeal the “shocking and disappointing” decision known, as they termed the ruling “wholly disproportionate and unjust”.
In a statement released on their official website, the Toffees said: “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.”
The Premier League, on the other hand, also revealed in a statement of theirs that Everton admitted they were in breach of the PSRs for the stated period.
“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 league body stated.
“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.”
The league’s profitability and sustainability rules provide clubs with the chance to lose a maximum of £105 million over a three-year period or face penalties.
However, Everton’s financial report released in March showed they posted losses for the fifth consecutive year after reporting a £44.7 million deficit in 2021–22.
Sean Dyche’s men have found form recently in the Premier League, with three wins, a draw, and a defeat in their last five games. Pending their appeal, they will need to dig themselves out of their current precarious situation, starting with a tough task against Manchester United at home on Sunday, November 26, after the international break.
