English soccer's top-tier Premier League (EPL) has announced that Everton have received a 10-point deduction, owing to the club being in breach of the league’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSRs).

The breach in question refers to the ruling period that ended with the 2021-22 season, wherein Everton made a loss of £124.5 million ($155.4 million), which exceeded their loss limit allowed by the PSRs (£105 million) by almost £20 million.

The points deduction, which would have seen Everton relegated if applied in each of the past two seasons, was imposed by an independent commission that the league referred the club to in March after Everton had admitted it breached the rules, but had contended the extent of its breach.

The commission, in its full report, claimed that the club was “less than frank” with the league regarding the PSR calculation relating to interest payments to be paid on its new stadium development at Bramley Moore Dock.

Everton believed that the interest payments should have been regarded as expenditure, a view contested by the Premier League, and also pointed out the loss of naming rights for its stadium resulting in the Russian invasion of Ukraine leading the government to veto potential investment.

While the Premier League did not allege Everton of dishonesty regarding the interest on the stadium, and the committee states that “Everton did not consciously intend to circumvent the rules,” it adds that it believes the club “failed to discharge the duty of utmost good faith”, which it adds increased the club’s culpability.

The independent committee stated: “The position that Everton finds itself in is of its own making – it is Everton’s responsibility to ensure that it complies with the PSR regime. The excess over the threshold is significant. The consequence is that Everton’s culpability is great […] the failure to comply with the PSR regime was the result of Everton irresponsibly taking a chance that things would turn out positively.”

The Merseyside outfit, for its part, has responded to the charges to express disappointment at the “wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction.” The club stressed that it would appeal the decision.

In a statement, the team said: “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.

“[Everton] does not recognize 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 posted financial losses for a fifth successive year, with their deficit totaling more than £430 million over that period.

Everton have now become only the third club in the history of the EPL to be handed a points deduction, after Middlesborough in 1997 and Portsmouth in 2010.

In 2010, Portsmouth FC were docked nine points for flirting with administration. The club narrowly avoided liquidation when it went into administration two years later. Middlesborough, meanwhile, were deducted three points for postponing a game at short notice in 1997 due to a lack of available players. Both clubs went on to be relegated.

There has been public backlash against the Premier League's focus on Everton, given perceived slights against league giants Chelsea and Manchester City, as well as the inconsistent verdicts reached on financial violations.

Many have pointed to the alleged breaches of financial rules by reigning champions Manchester City. The club faces 115 charges of breaching financial rules and has had a microscope held up to its overwhelming success over the past decade for ties to Emirati state-owned companies.

“It calls into question the processes and governance of the Premier League,” says GlobalData Sport analyst Conrad Wiacek. “Manchester City were charged in February but no movement has happened there, whereas Everton were only charged in March. It also exacerbates accusations of bias, with referees recently taking trips to the UAE to officiate matches for substantial financial compensation.”

Such a punishment seems unlikely – as do calls for Manchester City to be stripped of league titles. But the EPL has set a clear precedent with Everton’s potential points deduction.

“Any breach of financial rules resulting in a points deduction means the Premier League will have to apply the same punishment to City and Chelsea if both clubs are found guilty,” Wiacek comments. “In City's case, with 115 charges pending, that could result in multiple relegations and losing honors.”

It remains to be seen what this development will mean in regards to Everton's ongoing takeover process. 

US-based private equity firm 777 Partners completed a deal to acquire the club in September but is still yet to receive the necessary regulatory approval from the Premier League, the Football Association, and the Financial Conduct Authority after two months.