Everton points deduction: D-day arrives as Premier League consider another huge sanction; Nott’m Forest also in the dock
Everton manager Sean Dyche
Everton and Nottingham Forest will learn on Monday whether they will be charged with a breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, which could result in points deductions.
The Toffees were handed a 10-point penalty in November for a breach and now face the prospect of being punished twice in the same campaign.
Everton have already launched an appeal over the initial charge, in which the Premier League alleges the club overspent in a three-season period by £19.5m.
The controversial punishment has been met with backlash from supporters and several high-profile politicians.
On Sunday, former Bank of England chief Mark Carney, along with former Trade Union Congress general secretary Sir Brendan Barber and Dame Sue Owen, formerly of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, wrote a letter to the Premier League to highlight concerns over the ‘unfair’ punishment of Everton.
“We have no confidence in the process for deducting points from Everton,” reads the letter.
“And feel very strongly that the severity of the deduction must be reduced by the new commission assessing the appeal, or, ideally, replaced with a fine.
“We feel Everton have been unfairly punished for co-operating and making this a “quick” case.”
Premier League could mount fresh charges against Everton, Forest today
Now, the Premier League are set to reveal whether clubs including Everton and Nottingham Forest will face new charges relating to a three-season period ending with 2022/23, for which all PL sides filed their accounts by December 31.
Pundits Richard Keys and Andy Gray are also among the high-profile observers feeling any additional punishment towards Everton would be harsh in the extreme.
“How can you change the rules?”@richardajkeys and Andy Gray discuss the FFP rules changing in August…
pic.twitter.com/0vQ7r1YIDO— 𝐓𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐄 𝐓𝐕 (@ToffeeTVEFC) January 14, 2024
Under the profit and sustainability rules (PSR), clubs are allowed to lose £105million over three seasons (or £35m a season) but certain costs can be deducted, such as investment in youth development, infrastructure, community and women’s football.
Under a new system brought in by the League this season, charges will be fast-tracked and dealt with by the end of the current campaign.
The punishments for any clubs found to have breached the rules will be decided by an independent commission.
These can range from points deductions, transfer bans, fines and suspended punishments, based on the severity of the alleged breach.
However, due to the length of time, an appeal process will take – which both Everton and Forest are ready to ‘robustly’ launch – the clubs face the prospect of only learning their fate after the completion of this season, with the deadline for their appeal verdicts to be May 24.
This means that clubs could finish the season not knowing their final league position, or even whether they will avoid relegation or not.
Everton and Forest fans now face an anxious wait to see whether or not they have breached PSR, as reports suggest.