Everton’s rivals pushing for club to get points deduction

Everton’s relegation rivals are pushing the Premier League to take action against the Merseyside club, according to a report by The Athletic.

Earlier last month, the Premier League reported the Toffees to an Independent Commission for allegedly breaching Financial Play Rules.

The Premier League’s rules permit losses up to £105million over a three-year cycle; however, due to the impact of Covid-19, the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons have been added together and averaged out.

Everton recorded losses of over £370 m between 2018 to 2021.

Everton claim FFP compliance

The Goodison Park outfit had earlier claimed that they were compliant with the Financial Fair Play rules and that they strongly contest the allegation of non-compliance. Interestingly, the club’s account showed a loss of only £44.7 m when their accounts ending in June 2022 were released last month.

The club’s Chairman, Bill Kenwright, said, “The club is confident it remains compliant with all of the Premier League’s financial rules and regulations and has always provided information to them in an open and transparent manner. That the club has always acted in good faith simply intensifies the disappointment experienced at last week’s news.”

It will be interesting to see if the independent commission finds Everton guilty of misdoings. If they do, the club will likely face a fine along with points deducted from their tally this season that would result in their expulsion from the Premier League.

Tough relegation battle fuels urgency from rivals

The Toffees are locked in a relegation battle this season and, following the 1-3 defeat to Fulham on Saturday, are currently 17^th in the standings.

Only four points separate the bottom-placed teams with Southampton, Leicester City and Nottingham Forest fighting to avoid the drop.

It is believed that clubs in the bottom six are lobbying to take action before the season ends in May. This would mean that Everton will most likely be relegated to the Championship, meaning one less place to fight for.

Earlier Burnley and Leeds United had threatened legal action against the Premier League for its alleged failure to tackle Everton’s significant expenditure in May 2022. But it materialized to nothing after assurances were given that the losses were due to Covid 19.

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