Everton are facing a second points deduction this season after being charged by the Premier League on Monday for fresh breaches of financial fair play rules, with the club referred to another independent commission panel.
The Toffees have already been docked 10 points for a loss of £124.5million relating to a previous accounting period ending in 2021-22.
The club is currently preparing for an appeals process on that punishment, which the League alleges the club overspent by £19.5m.
And Everton, along with other Premier League sides including Nottingham Forest, today found out they face new charges for accounts relating to the accounting period ending in the 2022-23 season, for which all clubs filed their numbers by December 31.
Under a new system brought in by the League this season, charges are to be fast-tracked and dealt with by the end of this season, with any punishments applied to the current campaign. Any charged club will have a fortnight to respond, and an independent commission will be formed.
Sean Dyche has already navigated Everton through one points deduction this season
Everton are ready to robustly challenge both punishments placed on them by the league
But that is different in Everton’s case. Importantly, the current charge will not be heard until the appeals process for their original punishment of a 10-point deduction is completed, and the decision of said appeal could have a significant impact on any further commissions.
As the new charge relates to a four-year period up to summer 2023 – the two Covid-hit seasons count as one on the accounts – Everton face the possibility that they could be punished twice for effectively the same period they have already been sanctioned for.
The club believes it was compliant with Premier League guidelines, as it did for the previous alleged breach, and the crux of the argument between the two parties comes down to what losses are deemed permissible.
Everton’s financial losses are heavily influenced by the infrastructure project of building a new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock and the club sees this as a mitigating factor or reason for why they were in the red.
That stadium was also subject to a £200m naming-rights deal from a Russian company but that could not be honoured due to the Russian-Ukraine war, with all assets seized of those firms with ties to Vladimir Putin.
Fans took to the streets surrounding Goodison Park with banners and flares after prior charge
As per Premier League profit and sustainability rules (PSR), clubs can make a maximum loss of £105m over a rolling three-year period. These rules have been in place since August 2013 and many have argued that they should be altered in line with football inflation.
Everton are worried about the potential of double-jeopardy as the punishment currently going through an appeals process essentially covers a similar timeframe to this current charge. Under the rules, it becomes exponentially tougher for a club to escape if it is punished once.
The club might also point to the fact that they sit third bottom of the ‘net spend table’ for the last five years, with only recently-promoted Luton and Brighton, who sold the likes of Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Leandro Trossard in the last 12 months.
Mail Sport understands that the appeals process should be heard in February and the current charge cannot be brought before a commission until that original hearing takes place.
Everton’s main arguments in the appeal are that the punishment is disproportionate, plus a belief that their mitigating factors have not been given due consideration.
Large groups of fans gathered to show their fury against the Premier League’s first deduction
But any punishment for this fresh charge will be influenced by the outcome of the original appeal. Should that rule in Everton’s favour – if that was the case it would largely be around the mitigating factors for permissible losses – then it would be strange to punish them again.
If the appeal was to stick with the 10-point deduction, then it brings into play the argument of double jeopardy that Everton have already been punished for 75 per cent of the four-year period in question with this current charge.
The Premier League will this summer change its profit and sustainability rules to adopt a UEFA-style model that will centre more on wages to turnover ratio. Mail Sport understands Everton will robustly defend this new charge.
