London – With seven games left, Everton is now back in the relegation zone after receiving two more points deduction for their most recent violation of the English Premier League’s financial regulations on Monday.
Due to the club’s excessive spending during a three-year period leading up to the end of the 2021–22 season, Everton had already been docked six points, down from ten after an appeal.
An impartial panel decided that Everton had overspent in the three seasons leading up to 2022–2023 and imposed this most recent penalty.
Clubs are subject to sanctions if they lose more than 105 million pounds ($132.5 million) over a three-year period, as stipulated by the league profit and financial sustainability regulations. The league said that Everton had overspent by 16.6 million pounds ($21 million).
The fact that Everton had previously received a penalty for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons helps to explain why the second point deduction was less severe.
Nonetheless, the club declared that it was getting ready to file an appeal and that it was “very concerned by the inconsistency of different commissions in respect of points deductions applied.”
Everton might face a worse sentence if it files an appeal because a different panel might rule that the original punishment was insufficient.
Due to the deduction, Everton’s position in the 20-team league plummeted to 16th place with 27 points, two points above Luton. This was after dropping below Brentford. There will be three teams demoted.
Since 1954, Everton has been a constant in the top flight and has won nine English titles.
After being accused, the Merseyside club stated in the disciplinary hearing that there were some “significant mitigating circumstances,” including the club’s “high level of cooperation,” the war in Ukraine, and the admission of the infraction. The club has worked closely with the league regarding its finances.
The military metaphor is related to the rich British-Iranian owner of Everton, Farhad Moshiri, and his strong financial ties to Russian metals mogul Alisher Usmanov. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Usmanov was sanctioned by the European Union, which made it necessary for Everton to stop its significant sponsorship with Usmanov-affiliated businesses in March 2022.
Everton requested that the independent panel postpone the second punishment until the following season in the written justifications made public by the Premier League. According to the commission, that was not appropriate.
The league felt that five points was a good starting point for the sentence, with three points for the breach and two more for surpassing the higher loss criterion by 15.8%, according to the written reasons.
Due to the two seasons running concurrently and the mitigating circumstances, the commission deducted two points.
In the end, Everton was given a six-point penalty for the first infringement due to their approximately twenty million pound ($25 million) overspending.
Another club to be punished for breaking league financial regulations is Nottingham Forest, which is currently two points and a position below Everton. The club acknowledged that it had above the barrier by 34.5 million pounds ($44 million). In addition to contesting the ruling, Forest was given a four-point deduction.
It’s possible that the verdicts on Everton’s and Forest’s appeals won’t be revealed before the season is out. This might lead to a highly contentious situation where the teams that were demoted might not be revealed until several days after the season has concluded.
Manchester City and the league are engaged in a legal battle in a separate disciplinary action. The league has accused the English and European champions of approximately 80 financial rule violations between 2009 and 2018 and another 30 related to their purported refusal to assist with an investigation.
Due to the numerous alleged violations, the decision of City’s case isn’t anticipated to be known until at least halfway through the upcoming season.
