Everton FC has been deducted 10 points with immediate effect for breaches of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules.
The punishment is the biggest sporting sanction in the competition’s history and leaves Everton 19th in the table on a new total of four points, with the Toffees set to appeal the ruling.
The Premier League football club has been specifically found guilty of breaking ‘profit and sustainability’ rules which follows the club posting financial losses for the fifth successive year in March after reporting a £44.7m deficit in 2021-22.
‘The commission concluded that a sporting sanction in the form of a 10-point deduction should be imposed. That sanction has immediate effect.’
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A statement from the Premier League 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 £124.5m, as contended by the Premier League, which exceeded the threshold of £105m 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 Premier League had already referred Everton to an independent commission in March but did not reveal the specifics of the club’s alleged breach at that time.
The Toffees have quickly responded with its own club statement reading, ‘Everton FC 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 news comes amidst a number of Premier League clubs seeing their finances scrutinised. Manchester City is currently under investigation for 115 charges from the Premier League, and a news emerged this week of financial fair play rule breaches at Chelsea.
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