An independent panel ruled and imposed a 10-point deduction on Everton, for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules; before dropping points, Everton were 14th, eight points above the top three.
Everton are expected to appeal against the decision to strip them of 10 Premier League points, handed down by an independent panel on Friday.
The club was fined on November 17 for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules and has 14 days to appeal.
After an appeal is filed, the case will be heard by an independent appeals panel, which will include a different set of people from the original panel.
Everton said they were “shocked and disappointed” by the verdict and vowed to appeal.
Everton said they were shocked and disappointed by the ruling and vowed to appeal it.
“The harshness and seriousness of the imposed sanction are neither a fair nor a reasonable reflection of the submitted evidence,” the club announced.
The points deduction, handed down and immediately imposed by an independent commission, is the biggest in Premier League history, pushing Sean Dyche’s side into the relegation zone.
According to a statement from the Premier League, Everton admitted to breaching the league’s Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules during a five-day hearing.
The commission found that “Everton’s calculation of PSR for the relevant period resulted in a loss of £124.5 million”, according to the Premier League, which exceeded the limit of £105 million allowed under the PSR.
After narrowly avoiding relegation to the Championship last season, Everton this season – before dropping points – were 14th in the table, eight points ahead of the bottom three.
Only three clubs in the history of the Premier League have gone through the points deduction so far. Middlesbrough were deducted three points for falling against Blackburn in 1996/97. season and Portmouth were deducted nine points after entering administration in March 2010 season. Tottenham were deducted 12 points in the 1994/95 season, due to financial irregularities committed a few seasons earlier, but that penalty was reduced to six points and eventually abolished.