Everton, of English men’s soccer’s top-tier Premier League (EPL), have had this season's points deduction for their breach of EPL profitability and sustainability rules reduced from 10 points to six following an independent panel appeal against the original punishment.
The reduction of the points penalty – originally imposed following transgressions over the three years culminating in 2021-22 – will move Everton up to 25 points and up to fifteenth in the Premier League table, with 12 matches remaining.
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The appeal board found that the independent commission that originally imposed the punishment had made legal errors on two out of nine grounds that Everton had raised in their appeal.
An EPL statement said: “An independent appeal board has concluded that the sanction for Everton FC’s breach of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules for the period ending season 2021/22, will be an immediate six-point deduction.
“This follows the club’s appeal of an independent commission’s decision in November 2023 to impose a 10-point deduction for the club’s breach of the PSRs.
“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. Two of those nine grounds were upheld by the appeal board, which has substituted the original points deduction of 10 for six."
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By GlobalDataThe club had been deducted 10 points in November after an independent commission found Everton’s losses up to 2021-22 amounted to £124.5 million, with the club then facing a second charge in January after their 2022-23 accounts were unveiled.
The two cases center around interest payments on the club’s new £760 million stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, which Everton said should have been regarded as expenditure for PSR calculations in the 2021-22 financial year.
The charges have come at a significant time for the club after owner Farhad Moshiri announced his intention to sell his 94% stake in the club to US private equity firm 777 Partners.
The two legal errors made by the commission concerned the commission being wrong to punish Everton over being "less than frank" regarding its Bramley Moore Dock debt, and wrong "not to take into account available benchmarks" as regards other points deduction punishments in English soccer.
An Everton statement in response to the points deduction being reduced has now stated: “While the club is still digesting the appeal board’s decision, we are satisfied our appeal has resulted in a reduction in the points sanction.
“We understand the appeal board considered the 10-point deduction originally imposed to be inappropriate when assessed against the available benchmarks of which the club made the commission aware, including the position under the relevant EFL regulations, and the nine-point deduction that is imposed under the Premier League’s own rules in the event of insolvency.
“The club is also particularly pleased with the appeal board’s decision to overturn the original commission’s finding that the club failed to act in utmost good faith. That decision, along with reducing the points deduction, was an incredibly important point of principle for the club on appeal. The club, therefore, feels vindicated in pursuing its appeal."
Everton have also said they are "fully committed" to cooperating with the EPL regarding the latest set of charges.
