EPL: EVERTON 10-POINT DEDUCTION REDUCED TO SIX AFTER APPEAL

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Everton have had their 10-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) reduced to six following their appeal hearing.

Everton were sanctioned by an independent commission on November 17 after being found to have exceeded permitted losses by £19.5m over an assessment period ending with the 2021-22 season.

The club appealed the decision with the hearing taking place over three days, which concluded at the start of February.

Everton will now be on 25 points which moves them up to 15th and five points above the bottom three.

An Everton statement read: “While the club is still digesting the appeal board’s decision, we are satisfied our appeal has resulted in a reduction in the points sanction.

“We understand the appeal board considered the 10-point deduction originally imposed to be inappropriate when assessed against the available benchmarks of which the club made the commission aware, including the position under the relevant EFL regulations, and the nine-point deduction that is imposed under the Premier League’s own rules in the event of insolvency.

“The club is also particularly pleased with the appeal board’s decision to overturn the original commission’s finding that the club failed to act in utmost good faith. That decision, along with reducing the points deduction, was an incredibly important point of principle for the club on appeal. The club, therefore, feels vindicated in pursuing its appeal.”

The appeal board’s summary said Everton relied on nine grounds of appeal against the initial 10-point sanction, seven of which related to how the original commission dealt with various mitigating and aggravating factors.

Those seven were dismissed but the appeal board did conclude on the other two grounds that the original commission made legal errors.

The appeal board found the original commission was wrong in finding Everton had been “less than frank” in relation to what they told the Premier League about debt linked to their new stadium, and finding that in being so the club had breached a league rule requiring an obligation to act in utmost good faith.

While Everton’s representations regarding the stadium were found to be materially wrong, it was not the Premier League’s case that that was anything other than an innocent mistake.

The appeal board also found it was wrong of the commission not to take into account available benchmarks for sanction, such as EFL guidelines.

The appeal was heard earlier this month, by an appeal board comprising Sir Gary Hickinbottom (chair), Daniel Alexander KC and Katherine Apps KC.