Everton’s penalty for breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) during the three-year period up to 2021-22 has been reduced from a 10-point deduction to six points after an appeal.
The reduction lifted the club from 17th to 15th place on the league table – giving some relief in the battle to avoid relegation.
The club faced the largest penalty in Premier League history for their financial breaches, initially dropping from 14th to 19th place.
Club bosses initially admitted the breach but appealed the sanction on nine grounds, leading to a review by a three-person appeal board. The board concluded that the independent commission, which had imposed the initial 10-point penalty, made legal errors, particularly in how it handled the club’s disclosures about new stadium debt and in failing to consider available benchmarks for such sanctions.
The appeal board’s decision was influenced by comparisons with the English Football League (EFL) guidelines and previous cases like Sheffield Wednesday’s six-point deduction in 2020 for financial losses. It found a six-point deduction for Everton was more in line with these precedents.
The club welcomed the decision, especially the appeal board’s finding that the club did not fail to act in good faith regarding its stadium debt disclosures.
The PSR, introduced in the 2015-16 season, aims to ensure financial stability among clubs by limiting permissible losses. Everton’s financial struggles in recent years, accentuated by significant losses and a high expenditure on player transfers, have spotlighted the challenges clubs face in balancing competitive ambitions with financial sustainability.
