Premier League aim to have Everton’s latest appeal heard before final day

Everton were docked two points last week for for breaching Premier League profitability and sustainability rules. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

The Premier League is seeking to have Everton’s appeal against their latest points deduction heard before the end of the season in an attempt to bring some clarity to any final-day relegation battle.

Everton were docked two points last week for breaching Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) by £16.6m up to June 2023. The club, already deducted six points for a financial breach of £19.5m up to June 2022, faces another hearing into whether it can exclude £23.46m in stadium interest payments from its PSR calculations for 2020-23. That case will not be heard before the end of the season, raising the possibility of a relegated club taking legal action should Everton suffer a third points deduction that would have left them in the bottom three instead.

The club’s appeal over the second points deduction was scheduled to be concluded by 24 May under new guidelines introduced for this season. That is five days after the final game of the campaign. However, the Premier League has announced that they will attempt to expedite the appeal and have the outcome announced before the last round of matches on 19 May in order to give certainty to the final league table.

A Premier League statement read: “Everton Football Club has appealed the decision of an independent commission to impose a two-point deduction on the club following its admission of a breach of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules. An appeal board has been appointed to hear the case after the club lodged the appeal to the chair of the judicial panel today. The case will be heard on an expedited basis, in accordance with the league’s standard directions.

“For clarity and certainty for all clubs and fans, the Premier League will be seeking to have the appeal resolved urgently with the outcome confirmed in advance of Sunday 19 May, the last day of this season.”

The Premier League later clarified their statement by adding: “We are seeking to get this resolved but it requires the appeal board to agree the timeline to allow that to happen.” It was stressed that the commission is independent so will ultimately make its own call.

Meanwhile Everton’s owner, Farhad Moshiri, is attempting to give prospective buyers 777 Partners more time to complete their takeover of the financially troubled club. One of the Premier League’s conditions for allowing 777’s takeover is the repayment of a loan of £158m to MSP Sports Capital and local businessmen George Downing and Andy Bell by midnight on Monday US time/5am on Tuesday UK time. Moshiri is also owed part of the loan but is willing to give the Miami-based investment company more time to raise the funds to complete the deal.