Should Everton have been deducted SIXTY points? Premier League’s rulebook hints Toffees may have got off lightly with their 10-point deduction

• Everton have been rocked by a 10-point deduction for breaking financial rules 
• The commission declined to adopt stronger punishment in top flight handbook 
• Anthony Gordon should ditch England to play for Scotland – It’s All Kicking Off

Everton should have been given a much harsher punishment over their financial rule breaches, according to the Premier League’s official handbook.

The Toffees have been stunned by a ten-point deduction after they were charged with breaking the top flight’s profit and sustainability regulations – plunging them into 19th place in the table.

The Premier League had pushed for a sizeable points deduction to set a precedent after they were found to have committed the breaches in the 2021-22 campaign – having posted financial losses of almost £372million over a three-year period.

But it has now emerged that the Merseyside outfit could have been given a far worse punishment if the independent commission carrying out the investigation into Everton had followed the Premier League’s guidelines. 

In its ruling, the Commission said it had declined to follow the league’s proposal of starting at a six-point deduction and adding one point for every £5m over the loss limit. 

Everton could have been slapped with a 60-point after being charged with breaching the Premier League’s financial rules

The Toffees posted financial losses of almost £372million over a three-year period

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Everton were £250m above what the Premier League permits clubs to have lost over the three year time frame – meaning that they technically should have been docked 60 points. 

The ten point deduction they ended up with was crippling enough and means Sean Dyche’s side will become embroiled in a tough relegation scrap having been reduced down to four points.

Everton believe the punishment is unjust and plan to appeal the verdict. 

An Everton statement read: ‘Everton Football Club 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.

An independent commission declined to adopt the league’s proposal to start at a six-point deduction and add one point for every £5m over the loss limit

Premier League table after points penalty

‘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.

‘Everton cannot comment on this matter any further until the appeal process has concluded.’

Portsmouth were the last Premier League team to be docked points when they entered administration in 2010 and were given a 10-point penalty, ultimately relegating them.

Everton will point out that entering administration is a more serious breach than their alleged doings.

Everton also insist they have been open and transparent during the process. They were in an imposed agreement with the League since 2021 to work within strict financial guidelines – essentially a salary cap meaning they had to sell to buy with players. 

Everton said they were ‘shocked’ by the punishment and plan to launch an appeal

777 have contingency plans in light of Everton’s points deduction (pictured – Wander (right centre with cap) and co-founder Steven Pasko (left centre with cap)

Mail Sport understands Burnley and especially Leeds – who were all been narrowly relegated in the last two seasons, with Everton escaping the drop – had pressured the Premier League to issue a strong punishment. 

A Premier League statement this afternoon 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 £124.5million, 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.’

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

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