In case you missed it earlier, Everton are back in the relegation zone as of today after the Premier League hit the club with a ten point deduction coming out of the independent commission’s review of the single charge of breaching Financial Fair Play from last season.
The Blues will be appealing the decision with immediate effect, but it does appear the club will need to look sharp on the legal front as three clubs are lining up to sue the Toffees after finishing behind them in previous Premier League seasons.
Burnley (who are back in the top flight), Leeds United and Leicester City (both in the Championship) had previously indicated their willingness to sue Everton should the Premier League find them guilty of having broken FFP regulations. The sum being mentioned is for £300million, £100m in lost revenue for each of the three.
New reports in the last hour or so indicate that Southampton, who went down bottom of the league last season, are also planning to join the lawsuit brigade.
It is unlikely any sort of legal action of this nature will be resolved quickly enough for the aggrieved clubs’ liking, especially since Everton are well within their right to bog this down in the courts. With the Blues appealing the PL ruling, a lawsuit from the four will only be heard once that appeal is settled If Everton end up going to the High Court, or even bigger, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), then that could easily take years.
Ironically, the Premier League cleared the Toffees of any allegations of gaining a sporting advantage, by which they have given Everton a legal foundation for their defence against any lawsuit that relegated clubs can dream up.
If anything, the quartet should be suing their own incompetent managers and Boards that failed to finish ahead of two poor Everton squads led by Rafa Benitez and then Frank Lampard. More to come on these.
