Everton fans ‘will be pleased’ that their Financial Fair Play charges will be settled by the end of the year.
That is the opinion of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the threat of legal action against Everton’s FFP case.
As reported by Daily Mail, Southampton, Leicester, Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Burnley have informed the Premier League they believe they are entitled to compensation if Everton are found guilty of their financial charges.
The Toffees were charged with breaching Premier League spending rules in March, and the BBC report that their hearing in front of an independent commission is set for October 25.
The Times claim that the charge relates to a tax issue surrounding loans for the club’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Maguire believes Everton’s full focus will be on defending the charges as opposed to worrying about any potential legal fees.
“I think having to pay the legal bills of other parties is a concern,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“But I think Everton’s main focus will be on successfully defending the charges which have been levelled against them.
“And some of the news which has just come out in the past 24 hours or so appears to indicate that matters are to do with the tax on the borrowings to fund the new stadium rather than general day-to-day Financial Fair Play issues.
“It looks as if the hearing is going to take place in late October.
“Everton fans will be pleased, as will the fans of those other clubs involved.
“It’s not going to drag on for years and years as potentially we’ve seen on other cases.
“We’ll have some form of transparency and a verdict which will be settled, even though somebody is going to be unhappy as a result of it.“
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