EVERTON PENALTY REDUCED

Everton FC’s Premier League points deduction for financial breaches has been reduced from 10 to six points.

This comes after the club appealed the independent Premier League commission’s decision in November.

The Toffees were initially hit with a 10-point sanction for making losses of £124.5m for the 2021/22 season, exceeding the permitted loss limit of £105m by £19.5m.

This was deemed as a breach of the English top-flight’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

The punishment – the biggest in Premier League history – had dropped Everton from 14th to 19th in the table.

Following the appeal, a club statement, read, ‘We understand the appeal board considered the 10-point deduction originally imposed to be inappropriate when assessed against the available benchmarks of which the club made the commission aware, including the position under the relevant EFL regulations, and the 9-point deduction that is imposed under the Premier League’s own rules in the event of insolvency. 

‘The club is also particularly pleased with the appeal board’s decision to overturn the original commission’s finding that the club failed to act in utmost good faith. That decision, along with reducing the points deduction, was an incredibly important point of principle for the club on appeal. The club, therefore, feels vindicated in pursuing its appeal.’

Everton now sit at 15th in the Premier League table with 25 points, having climbed four places after the sanction was reduced. 

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest will face an independent commission next week regarding its own PSR breaches, with a verdict expected to come at the start of April.