Everton have dropped to 19th in the Premier League table after being given a whopping 10-point deduction for breaching profitability and sustainability rules.
The Premier League recommended a record deduction for the Toffees, with the previous biggest punishment standing at nine. Top-flight clubs are allowed to lose a maximum of £105million over a three-year period, with Everton over that threshold.
An independent panel confirmed the punishment on Friday, with the Premier League releasing a statement which reads: “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 £124.5m, as contended by the Premier League, which exceeded the threshold of £105m 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.”
The deduction means Everton face a fierce battle for survival, despite an upturn in results under Sean Dyche. Prior to the sanctions, Dyche’s side had 14 points from 12 games and sat in 14th in the table.
They now plummet to second bottom, only ahead of Burnley by virtue of goal difference. It also means Sheffield United move up one place to 18th and Luton, temporarily at least, out of the bottom three on six, two points ahead of Everton’s new total.
A statement from the Merseyside club confirms they will appeal the decision, although for now, the points deduction remains. Their statement reads: "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.
1. Man City - 28
2. Liverpool - 27
3. Arsenal - 27
4. Tottenham - 26
5. Aston Villa - 25
6. Man Utd - 21
7. Newcastle - 20
8. Brighton - 19
9. West Ham - 17
10. Chelsea - 16
11. Brentford - 16
12. Wolves - 15
13. Crystal Palace - 15
14. Nottingham Forest - 13
15. Fulham - 12
16. Bournemouth - 9
17. Luton - 6
18. Sheffield United - 5
19. Everton - 4*
20. Burnley - 4
*Everton were deducted 10 points for breaching Premier League profitability and sustainability rules
"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."
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