Everton lodges appeal against record Premier League points deduction

Everton FC has lodged an appeal against its 10-points deduction by the Premier League, announced on November 17.

Today (December 1) was the deadline for any appeal to be lodged, and the club said it has forwarded its case to the Chair of the Premier League’s Judicial Panel.

It said an Appeal Board will now be appointed to hear the case. It will not comment until the appeal process has concluded.

An independent commission, appointed by the Premier League, imposed the points deduction on the club under the league’s profit and sustainability rules, saying the Blues had breached spending limits.

At the time the club was 14th in the table, on 14 points, but plummeted to second from bottom spot following the deduction and now faces a relegation battle to escape the drop zone.

The appeal board will comprise different personnel to the original commission.

In a club statement on November 17, Everton said: “Everton Football Club is both shocked and disappointed by the ruling of the Premier League’s Commission.

“The club believes that the commission has imposed a wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction.

“Everton maintains that it has been open and transparent in the information it has provided to the Premier League and that it has always respected the integrity of the process.

“The club does not recognise the finding that it failed to act with the utmost good faith and it does not understand this to have been an allegation made by the Premier League during the course of proceedings.

“Both the harshness and severity of the sanction imposed by the commission are neither a fair nor a reasonable reflection of the evidence submitted.”

Previously, the club vigorously denied any accusation of wrongdoing, but during the five-day commission hearing it accepted it had breached regulations.

The 10-point deduction is the biggest in Premier League history.

Only three clubs have been docked points in Premier League history. Middlesbrough were deducted three for failing to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn in 1996/97 and Portsmouth were stripped of nine after entering administration in March 2010.

Tottenham were hit with a a 12-point deduction before the 1994/95 season for financial irregularities committed several seasons earlier, but that punishment was initially reduced to six points before eventually being revoked.

No timescale has been issued for the appeal process.

Manchester City has been charged with 115 potential breaches. Its case is expected to be heard towards the end of 2024.