PL struggler’s massive survival boost as $38m controversy takes crucial turn

Everton’s penalty for breaching Premier League financial rules has been reduced from 10 points to six following an appeal, giving them a major boost in their relegation battle.

The club were hit with the hefty punishment in November after an independent commission found they had exceeded permitted losses under the league’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSRs) by £19.5 million (A$37.8m) over an assessment period ending with the 2021/22 season.

Clubs are allowed to lose a maximum £105 million over a three-year period or face sanctions.

Get all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!

The original ruling -- the biggest points deduction in Premier League history -- left one of England’s most storied clubs 19th in the table and fighting to avoid the drop.

But an independent appeal board has cut the punishment by four points, lifting Sean Dyche’s men to 15th in the table -- five points clear of the relegation zone with 12 games remaining.

“Everton FC appealed the sanction imposed against it on nine grounds, each of which related to the sanction rather than the fact of the breach, which the club admitted,” the Premier League said in a statement on Monday.

“Two of those nine grounds were upheld by the appeal board, which has substituted the original points deduction of 10 for six.”

The appeal board concluded that the original commission made “legal errors” on two grounds.

It found the original commission was wrong in finding Everton had been “less than frank” in relation to what they told the Premier League about debt linked to their new stadium, and finding that in being so the club had breached a league rule requiring an obligation