Everton will be appealing their 10-point deduction after being found guilty of a Premier League financial breach.
The ECHO understands that Everton believe a sporting sanction for what the club considers an accountancy issue is wholly inappropriate - and they have not been supported for being open and transparent throughout the process.
On March 24 it was disclosed that Everton had been referred to an independent commission by the Premier League over an alleged breach of profit and sustainability rules but the club denied any wrongdoing and said they were “prepared to robustly defend” their position.
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In their latest financial accounts published on March 31, Everton posted a deficit of £44.7million in 2021/22, taking their total losses over the past five years to £430m. Clubs are permitted to lose £105m over a three-year period.
However, Premier League teams were allowed leeway on Covid-related losses when the two seasons played behind closed doors were merged as one, and Everton suggested the impact of the pandemic played a major part. Their total losses include about £170m attributed to Covid, when the club said they could not bring in matchday revenue and there was an “inability to generate the level of transfer fees which could reasonably have been expected pre-pandemic.”
The only previous occurrence of a Premier League club being deducted points for a non-football matter came in 2009/10 when Portsmouth were docked nine points for entering administration during the season. The Hampshire outfit would have finished bottom of the table anyway that season, regardless of the sanction.
The club
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