Premier League responds to Andy Burnham after Everton 'abuse of power' claim

The Premier League have told Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham that his allegations of an “abuse of process” around Everton’s 10-point deduction are wrong.

Everton season ticket holder Burnham wrote to Alison Brittain, the chairwoman of the Premier League, to accuse the organisation of an “abuse of process” and “regulatory malpractice” after the Blues were given an immediate 10-point deduction on November 17 – the heaviest such penalty in the 135-year history of English top-flight football – having been found to have breached profitability and sustainability rules. Burnham was highly critical at what he saw as an attempt by the league to introduce a new sanction rules midway through the hearing into Everton’s financial breaches.

An article in the Daily Telegraph states the Premier League recommended a fixed starting point of a six-point deduction and then a further point for every £5million by which the club had exceeded the PSR threshold. Everton suggested that a transfer embargo might be more appropriate.

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Burnham claimed in his letter over the weekend that the Premier League sanction recommendation was “akin to the government handing new sentencing guidelines to a judge in the middle of a … trial.”

The report adds: “Brittain, a former chief executive at Whitbread plc, wrote to Burnham this week to address his points individually. She explained that a commission hearing a case independently ordinarily invite submissions from both sides on appropriate sanctions.”

She also explained in her letter that the Premier League asked clubs in 2020 whether similar