EVERTON have been deducted 10 points by the Premier League for a breach of profit and sustainability rules, the body announced today.
In a swift reaction, the club said they were ‘shocked and disappointed’ by the ruling and have promised to appeal.
The punishment was handed out by an Independent Commission and takes effect immediately, leaving Everton in the relegation zone.
The 10-point deduction is the largest in the history of the Premier League and took Everton from being eight points clear of the bottom three to being second from bottom in the table.
According to the Premier League, Everton admitted during a five-day hearing that the club was in breach of the league’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules with the Commission “determining 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.”
According to Sky Sports, only two clubs have previously been docked points in Premier League history — Middlesbrough, who were deducted three for failing to fulfill a fixture against Blackburn in 1996/1997 and Portsmouth, who were stripped of nine after entering administration in March 2010.
Everton were referred to an Independent Commission by the Premier League in March for a potential breach of profit and sustainability rules.
In a statement moments after the sanction was announced, Everton said:
“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.
“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.”
