LONDON: Everton’s penalty for breaking English Premier League (EPL) financial rules was reduced to 10 points for six subsequent appeals, giving them hope in their bid to avoid relegation to the lower leagues.
The club was handed the heavy penalty last November after the commission found they had incurred losses justified under the league’s profits and performance regulations by a difference of £19.5 million over the assessment period at the end of the 2021-22 season.
The club can lose a maximum of £105 million within three years or face penalties.
The previous result – the biggest points deduction in EPL history – saw one of England’s historic clubs drop to 19th in the league charts and struggling to avoid relegation.
But free agency reduced the penalty by four points, moving Sean Dyche’s men up to 15th in the league – five points above the knockout zone with 12 games remaining.
“Everton FC requested the punishment imposed against it on nine grounds, each of which relates to the penalty and not the fact of the offence, which the club admitted,” the EPL said in a statement late last night.
“Two of the nine reasons were retained by the seduction board, which replaced the original point deduction of 10 for six.”
The appeals agency concluded the commission had made a “statutory error” for two reasons.
He found the commission cleared of wrongdoing when it found Everton had been “less than forthright” regarding what they had told the EPL about debts linked to their new stadium and found that in doing so the club had breached league rules requiring an obligation to act in good faith.
Nine-time English champions Everton have played in the top flight since 1954 and have never dropped out of the EPL.