Everton deducted 10 points in the Premier League after breaching financial rules 'and face £300m lawsuit from rivals'

17 November 2023, 12:31 | Updated: 17 November 2023, 14:37

Everton have been deducted 10 points in the Premier League after breaching Premier League financial rules.

The punishment takes the Liverpool side to joint bottom of the table, alongside newly-promoted strugglers Burnley, on four points after 12 games.

This is the biggest sanction imposed in the history of the Premier League, which began in 1992.

Everton, whose recent history has seen them fight to stay in the league, have vowed to fight the "wholly disproportionate" decision, with the club saying it was "shocked".

In a further blow to the club, Burnley, Leeds and Leicester plan to sue them for a total of £300million after the club was found guilty of breaching financial fair play rules.

It comes after the league referred the Toffees to an independent commission in March for breaching rules over profitability and sustainability in a period ending in the 2021-22 season.

The Premier League said: "Following a five-day hearing last month, the Commission determined that Everton FC’s PSR Calculation for the relevant period resulted in a loss of £124.5million, as contended by the Premier League, which exceeded the threshold of £105million permitted under the PSRs.

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"The Commission concluded that a sporting sanction in the form of a 10-point deduction should be imposed. That sanction has immediate effect."

Everton, who had enjoyed a decent start to the season and were mid-table, said it would appeal in a statement: "Everton Football Club is both shocked and disappointed by the ruling of the Premier League’s Commission.

"The Club believes that the Commission has imposed a wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction. The Club has already communicated its intention to appeal the decision to the Premier League. The appeal process will now commence and the Club’s case will be heard by an Appeal Board appointed pursuant to the Premier League's rules in due course.

"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.

"The Club does not recognise 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 will also monitor with great interest the decisions made in any other cases concerning the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules."

Points deductions are rare, despite several question marks surrounding clubs' financial issues.

The last club to be sanctioned was Portsmouth in 2010, who were docked nine points after going into administration.

The only other time a club was punished with a points deduction was in the 1996-97 season, when Middlesbrough tried to postpone a fixture and were unable to play it.

That cost them their place in the Premier League, as they were relegated at the end of the season. Without such a deduction, they would have survived.