Everton points deduction Q&A: What next for the Toffees, and what about Man City and Chelsea’s cases?
Everton were handed the highest points deduction in the history of the Premier League for a breach of its profit and sustainability rules.
An independent commission found Everton suffered a loss of £19.5m more than the £105m that Premier League clubs are allowed to lose over a three-year period.
The club will appeal the decision and have until December 1 to submit it. The Premier League will then have seven days to respond to the appeal before it goes to the appeals commission.
In a special Q&A held on Monday, Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol answered all the important questions on Everton – and how it affects similar Premier League investigations into Manchester City and Chelsea…
There is a chance that could happen. The general feeling in football seems to be that the punishment is harsh.
The new panel may come to a different decision. The appeal will be heard by a new panel of senior lawyers and financial experts and they have the power to either allow or dismiss the appeal, and vary any penalty imposed. They can change the punishment.
The last thing the Premier League will want is there to be any uncertainty over who is staying up and who is going down at the end of the season.
Everton had 14 days to lodge their appeal and they have already made it clear that they will be taking up that option.
What their appeal will focus on will be trying to convince the panel that they should be allowed to make the extra £19.5m worth of deductions that they wanted to which would have prevented them from breaching the rules.
The decision of the appeal’s board is final – except in unusual circumstances, such as serious errors being made by the commission.
For example, if they got the maths significantly wrong. The difficulty Everton have got with an appeal is that they have already admitted they are guilty.
In appealing, what they want is to reduce the punishment rather than establish their innocence.
Everton would not be able to take the case any further, to the law courts or the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
I’ve got a lot of sympathy for them because they are the ones being punished for something that has nothing to do with them.
I think this whole story is much bigger than just Everton. English football in the modern era has an ownership problem.
Too many people are buying football clubs without fans knowing what their real motives and objectives are.
The long-term answer across all four divisions is to have much stricter rules about who is allowed to buy clubs.
Look, Everton are in serious trouble but the size of the club and its fanbase means that there is light at the end of the tunnel – especially if they can avoid relegation this season.
Sean Dyche will be using this to galvanise his players. Most neutrals still expect Everton to stay up even with a 10-point deduction, and it would be no surprise if they beat Manchester United on Sunday.
Off the pitch, the legal problems are not going to go away, and there is still the real possibility that some of Everton’s rivals will sue for compensation and there is continued uncertainty about the takeover process of 777.
From a football perspective, Everton have got the players and the manager who can keep them up. You just have to hope for the sake of the fans that they will soon get the right owners to lead them into a new chapter at their new stadium.
Looking at Everton’s recent form, there’s every reason to believe that they can stay up although they will want to make sure they have the before they travel to Arsenal on the final day of the season.
