Premier League are facing the threat of legal action from their OWN clubs after being accused of failing to enforce spending rules, with top-flight rivals plotting to sue Everton for £300MILLION if they avoid relegation
- A number of clubs may seek hefty compensation should Everton beat the drop
- Unhappy sides are also considering bringing a claim against the Premier League
- The top-flight have now been accused of not enforcing their own spending rules
The Premier League are facing the threat of legal action from their own clubs who have accused them of failing to enforce their own spending rules.
Mail Sport revealed yesterday that Southampton, Leicester, Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Burnley have put the Premier League on notice that they will seek a total of £300m in compensation via an independent commission if Everton avoid relegation and are subsequently found guilty of breaching the spending limits.
The unhappy clubs are also considering bringing a parallel claim for damages against the Premier League on the grounds that they have not enforced rules which prevent clubs from posting losses of more than £105million over a three-year period.
Everton have been working closely with the Premier League to control their spending for two years, with every player signing and new contract requiring permission from the authorities, and their 2020/21 accounts were approved last summer despite showing losses of £372m over the previous three years.
‘It’s clear that the Premier League have been ineffective or negligent with regards to enforcing their own rules,’ a club source told Mail Sport.
The Premier League (above: CEO Richard Masters) is facing a threat of legal action from clubs
Unhappy teams put the top-flight on notice that they will seek £300million if Everton avoid relegation (pictured: majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, left, chairman Bill Kenwright, right)
Everton have been working with the Premier League to control their spending for two years
‘Everton’s defence against the charges is essentially that the Premier League approved all their expenditure, which appears to be the case.
‘The Premier League certainly had advance warning of Everton’s planned expenditure before they submitted their 2021/22 accounts in March, yet they stood back and allowed them to keep spending.’
There is widespread unhappiness across the other 19 top-flight clubs that the issue of Everton’s spending was not tackled definitively last summer after they avoided charges relating to their 2020/21 accounts.
The subject is understood to have been raised by several clubs both in private communications with the Premier League and in open meetings, but they were assured that Everton’s Covid-19 allowances had ensured they were compliant with the rules and that there was no case to answer.
Everton went on to spend £86m on players last summer, as well as signing James Tarkowski on a free from Burnley, taking their total transfer spend under the ownership Farhad Moshiri to £731m in seven years.
But the authorities have now been accused of failing to enforce their own spending rules
Leicester are one of five clubs that may demand compensation should Everton beat the drop
Everton were charged for breaching the cap in March and remain above the £105m losses limit
The sale of Richarlison to Tottenham for £60m helped them reduce their three-year losses to £313.5m in their most recent accounts, yet they remain way above the £105m limit and were charged by the Premier League for breaching the cap in March.
The other clubs are angry that last summer’s spending was permitted, and are planning to seek compensation if Everton stay up after being told that any sporting sanctions will not apply this season.
As Mail Sport revealed yesterday the clubs applied to the Premier League for Everton’s disciplinary hearing to be fast-tracked, but this request was rejected by the independent commission who will hear the case.
