Everton points deduction LIVE: Toffees docked 10 Premier League points for breaching FFP rules
EVERTON have plunged into a Premier League relegation battle after being hit with a 10-point deduction for breaching FFP rules.
The Premier League has called for the punishment after Everton recorded heavy financial losses over the past three years.
And the Toffees are now only one place off 20th due to their goal difference as a result.
Everton 'to be out of trouble by January'
Ex-England striker Gabriel Agbonlahor reckons Everton will have shrugged off their “minor” punishment by January.
The Toffees’ 10-point penalty has dumped them joint bottom – but the former Aston Villa star believes Sean Dyche’s man will be out of the drop zone within weeks.
Agbonlahor posted on X: “Everton losing 10 points is a minor!
“The bottom three are miles off it! Everton [will] be out [of the] relegation zone before January!”
Prem giants told to fear the worse
Manchester City and Chelsea fear Premier League RELEGATION after Everton’s record ten-point deduction.
The Toffees were hit with the whopping sanction for breaching strict Financial Fair Play rules.
They now face huge compensation claims from Leeds, Leicester, Southampton, Forest and Burnley.
Legal experts have warned that Pep Guardiola’s City, who were slapped with 115 FFP charges in January, and Chelsea — under investigation over transfers during Roman Abramovich’s reign — could be booted out of the top flight.
Toffees' punishment changes everything
And Manchester City as well as Chelsea in particular may need an industrial scale mop to soak up the sweat pooling at their feet.
For all the talk about scrutiny, rules and a determination to ensure clubs lived within their means, nobody really thought Prem chiefs meant it. The general view was that it was all a bit of a show. Window dressing. Never actually going to be acted upon.
Yet, suddenly, with Everton sucker-punched with the biggest penalty in the League’s 30-year history — a ten-point deduction — and facing a likely season-long fight against a relegation that could be the final nail in the famous old Merseyside club’s coffin, the entire picture has been altered.
The Toffees, swinging in all directions, made clear they will push for equal action elsewhere.
Attacking the “harshness and severity” of the punishment, Everton’s statement noted: “The club will monitor with great interest the decisions made in any other cases concerning the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.”
But a new standard has been set. In their 41-page written reasons, a three-man independent commission, headed by David Phillips KC, made clear that the Premier League — under fire from Westminster and other critics — has an obligation to come down hard on clubs who try to cheat the system.
Kroenkes may have SAVED Gunners from Everton fate
The Kroenke family may have inadvertently saved Arsenal from suffering an Everton-style penalty.
Everton were handed a ten-point deduction that has seen them plummet into the relegation zone after being found guilty of breaching Premier League Financial Fair Play rules.
The Toffees recorded heavy financial losses of £124.5million over the past three years. This is £19.5m over the Prem's budget of £105m.
Part of these losses came as a result of Alisher Usmanov, a former shareholder in Arsenal, seeing his assets frozen in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Everton suspended its partnership with Usmanov's holding company USM which had a five-year deal worth more than £12m.
Usmanov held over 30 per cent of shares in the Gunners as of October 2013, before accepting a £550m bid for his shares in Arsenal from Stan Kroenke in 2018.
And David Ornstein told Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE, he said: "You'll look at clubs like Arsenal for example who had, as a large minority shareholder, Alisher Usmanov at some point.
"Who with Farhad Moshiri moved over to Everton and a lot of the problems Everton are facing are due to the loss of money that was on behalf of Usmanov.
"You could say that might have been Arsenal had things worked out differently and KSE, the Kroenke family hadn't taken full control."
Covid 'transfer value' claim rejected
Prem chiefs were also underwhelmed by Everton's claim they missed out on the transfer value of one star — ‘Player Y’ — because of Covid.
Lawyers claimed the “factual reality” was that Everton had made a decision NOT to sell.
Prem rules allow losses of £105m over a three-year period but Everton’s up to 2021-22 were found to be £124.5m.
Toffees wanted wriggle room for NOT suing a player
Everton's failed attempt to escape a record points deduction saw them claim they should be allowed extra wriggle room for NOT suing a player.
They said that after ‘Player X’ was arrested in July 2021, they sought to protect his “mental welfare” at a financial cost.
The player — not named in the independent commission report — was sacked the following month but Everton opted not to sue him for breach of contract.
Yet at the hearing, Everton argued the £10million they could have demanded should have been included in their losses, minimising the breach of League rules.
According to the written reasons, Everton claimed they were “entitled to credit for not pursuing an economically viable claim” against the player.
But the commission branded the argument “speculative”, adding there was “no evidence that Player X would have been able to meet whatever judgement might have been obtained”.
Here's what the experts say...
Top sports lawyer Stefan Borson, one-time financial adviser to Treble winners Manchester City, claims if the clubs are found guilty any punishment could lead to relegation.
He said: “Ten points for Everton feels harsh for a straightforward Financial Fair Play breach.
“But it reinforces that sanctions against City and now Chelsea will be potentially relegation- inducing.”
Fellow lawyer Simon Leaf, head of sport at Mishcon de Reya and co-author of the chapter on financial regulation in Football and the Law, added: “This is a landmark moment in the history of the League.
“It will cause shockwaves, particularly in the boardrooms of Chelsea and Manchester City.
“It’s the first time the Premier League has imposed a points deduction for breach of its FFP rules in its history.”
City & Chelsea sweating on Prem future
Manchester City and Chelsea fear Premier League RELEGATION after Everton’s record ten-point deduction.
The Toffees were hit with the whopping sanction for breaching strict Financial Fair Play rules.
They now face huge compensation claims from Leeds, Leicester, Southampton, Forest and Burnley.
Legal experts have warned that Pep Guardiola’s City, who were slapped with 115 FFP charges in January, and Chelsea — under investigation over transfers during Roman Abramovich’s reign — could be booted out of the top flight.
Lescott 'surprised by swift decision'
Former Everton defender Joleon Lescott has revealed his "surprise" at how quickly Everton were handed their 10-point penalty.
But the 26-cap Englishman expects the Toffees to rise back out of the drop zone.
Lescott said: “The swiftness of the decision has surprised me, speaking to people within the club up until the weekend they were very adamant this wasn’t going to be the outcome so soon."
But he added: “From a morale perspective they are winning games regularly.
"If this came earlier in the season from a player’s perspective you see a minus next to a points tally that has a different effect on your morale.
"I know they are 19th and near relegation, but they’ll be confident that they can get out of it.”
How about that for a Yak stat
Yakubu was famed for his top-flight poaching - but now has an unwanted record.
The 58-cap Nigerian played for all three Prem clubs who have suffered points penalties.
And after the quirk was pointed out in X it only gets worse for the ex-Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Everton striker.
The 40-year-old also had spells at Reading and Coventry in the twilight of his career - two clubs who have also been penalised.
Agbonlahor scoffs at 'minor' Everton punishment
Ex-England striker Gabriel Agbonlahor reckons Everton will have shrugged off their "minor" punishment by January.
The Toffees' 10-point penalty has dumped them joint bottom - but the former Aston Villa star believes Sean Dyche's man will be out of the drop zone within weeks.
Agbonlahor posted on X: “Everton losing 10 points is a minor!
“The bottom three are miles off it! Everton [will] be out [of the] relegation zone before January!”
Bookies still BACK Toffees to stay up
Bookies tip Everton for a tougher fight to stay up - but the three clubs promoted from the Championship remain odds on to go straight back down.
Coral’s John Hill said: “Although Everton’s 10-point deduction puts them in the bottom three, we still think there is a good chance they will survive relegation.
“The Toffees were are big as 9-2 in the relegation betting before the deduction, but they are now just 2-1 to lose their top-flight status this season.”
CORAL RELEGATION ODDS:
- 1-5 Luton, Sheffield United
- 8-13 Burnley
- 2-1 Everton
- 12-5 Bournemouth
- 13-2 Fulham
Merson's unusual take on Everton penalty
Arsenal legend Paul Merson believes the financial spending limits that have cost Everton 10 points could be HELPING the Prem elite.
The ex-England striker has suggested clubs should be freer to splash out - to try to close the gap.
Merson posted on X: “Top 6 won’t be caught if teams can’t spend money."
Only 7 top-flight clubs have had points deduction
Points deductions in the top-flight are extremely rare.
Everton's 10-point penalty is not only the biggest, it's just the third ever in the Prem - and the sixth in total at the highest level of English football.
Here SunSport's MARTIN LIPTON lists the previous offenders:
- 1889-90 Notts County Ineligible player 1pt (overturned on appeal)
- 1890-91 Sunderland Ineligible player 2pts
- 1990-91 Arsenal Misconduct by several players in game at Old Trafford 2pts
- 1990-91 Manchester United Misconduct by several players 1pt
- 1996-97 Middlesbrough Failure to play fixture at Blackburn 3pts
- 2009-10 Portsmouth Entering administration 9pts
- 2023-24 Everton Breaching profitability and sustainability rules 10pts
History is against Toffees' survival hopes
Everton's 10-point deduction in the biggest in Prem history - and the only other two clubs to suffer a points penalty were both relegated.
Middlesbrough were docked three points for failing to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn in 1996-97 season.
And Portsmouth lost nine points in 2010 after going into administration.
The Toffees' immediate penalty leaves them joint bottom with Burnley on four points from 12 games.
Commission explains why punishment so tough
Amid the shock over Everton's 10-point penalty, the independent commission who made the decision have explained why they took a tough line.
In their 41-page written reasons, the commission stressed the Prem has a duty to be strict if clubs try to cheat the system.
They wrote: “The Commission has no doubt that one of the primary purposes of the sanction is to punish the transgressing club.
“We must not be swayed by sympathy - for example, the fact that the penalty might make the prospect of relegation greater.
“The inference of a sporting advantage should properly be drawn from the fact of a breach, and that sporting advantage was enjoyed for four seasons.
“One of the purposes of a sanction is to provide a deterrent effect. That is a legitimate purpose.”
Carragher blasts 'unfair' penalty'
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has joined Goodison fans in criticising the shock penalty that has dumped Everton in the drop zone.
The pundit, who supported the Toffees as a kid, posted on X: “The 10 point deduction for Everton is excessive and not right.
“They have been working with the Premier League about this for the last couple of years.
“Would it have been better to be evasive and try & drag it out like other clubs?
“Until other clubs are sanctioned Everton will feel they are being used to show there is no need for an independent regulator, and they are right.”
FSA on Everton's sanction
The FSA (Football Supporters' Association) has claimed that football needs an independent regulator urgently after Everton's 10-point deduction.
A statement reads: “The FSA has always argued that football needs an independent regulator with real time powers to intervene before clubs get themselves into positions where a points deduction is handed out.
“Today’s news once again shows the urgent need for the Government to deliver an independent regulator for football as soon as possible. This shouldn’t be happening.
“We’ve seen far too many clubs across the game find themselves in financial trouble and our sympathy is always with the supporters – they didn’t create the problems but they are punished alongside their club.”
Everton should take it, says Southall
Neville Southall believes Everton should accept their 10-point deduction and "suck it up".
He told BBC Radio Five Live: "It has been coming so it is no surprise. But at the end of the day they knew it was coming and if they are doing Everton they are doing other clubs as well. Otherwise, it is discrimination against one club.
"All it will do is galvanise the players, the manager and the fans into one, which is a good thing, but they must appeal as that is what everyone does.
"However, if I was them I would just take it and get it out of the way. They are playing well and the Premier League is not a great league from the bottom half down, so we have a chance of winning that little bit of a league. It sounds harsh and horrendous but if you broke the rules, you broke the rules - just suck it up."
Supercomputer predicts final Premier League table
A supercomputer has predicted the Premier League table at the end of the season after Everton's points deduction.
The prediction sees the Toffees just survive relegation and finish in 17th place.
It means that Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United will return to the Championship after one season.
Star reacts to news
Everton youth star Bradley Moonan has reacted to the news about the club's sanction on social media.
Where are Everton in the league?
Since Everton have been hit with a ten point deduction they have dropped from their spot in 14th in the Premier League.
The club now sits 19th with only four points.
The club remain off the bottom of the table on goal difference.
Stars could jump ship
Everton could lose a host of star names after being hit with a 10-point deduction by the Premier League.
Sun Sport has looked at SEVEN potential star men who could leave Sean Dyche’s squad over the coming months following the blockbuster news.
The list includes the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jordan Pickford and Dwight McNeil.
How long do Everton have to appeal?
Everton have seven days to lodge their appeal against the sanctions imposed on them.
After that an appeal board will be appointed and then the Premier League have seven days to respond to the appeal.
An appeal date will then be put in place and this should be before the end of the season.
What about Chelsea and Man City?
Chelsea and Manchester City face the threat of RELEGATION, according to a former financial advisor to the Etihad club.
Borson tweeted: "Without seeing the judgement/award -10 points for Everton feels harsh for a straightforward FFP breach to me.
"But reinforces that sanctions against City [if proven] and now Chelsea [if charged and admitted on the off-books payments] will be potentially relegation inducing.
"One thing is for sure, given the scale of this sporting sanction, Chelsea's calculus (in my opinion) that they could breach Premier League profit and sustainability and just take a fine as a cost of doing business, must be in urgent and immediate reconsideration.
"The January window may be interesting. Even in the best case, they can no longer rely on being able to convince an Independent Commission to accept their Covid and Sanctions allowances as exceptional adjustments (to the extent that was the plan)."
