Everton sanction for financial breaches reduced to six points،
Everton's penalty for breaching the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) has been reduced by 10 points to six points on appeal by the Merseyside club, the Premier League announced on Monday.
The initial 10-point penalty was handed down in November, with Everton immediately lodging their appeal against what was the harshest penalty in Premier League history.
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In a statement released on Monday, the league said: “Everton FC has appealed the sanction imposed on it on nine grounds, each relating to the sanction rather than the fact of the violation, which the club admitted.
“Two of these nine grounds were upheld by the appeals committee, which replaced the initial deduction of 10 points with six.
“This revised sanction has immediate effect and the Premier League table will be updated today to reflect this.”
The move moves Everton from 17th to 15th in the table, five points from the relegation zone.
Everton said they were satisfied with the decision in a club statement released on Monday.
“We understand that the Appeal Committee considered that the 10 point deduction initially imposed was inappropriate when assessed against the available criteria of which the club informed the Committee, including position under the relevant EFL regulations, and the 9 point deduction which is imposed under the Premier League's own rules in the event of insolvency.
“The club is also particularly pleased with the appeal committee’s decision to overturn the committee’s initial finding that the club had not acted in good faith.
“This decision, together with the reduction in the points deduction, was an extremely important point of principle for the club on appeal. The club therefore feels justified in continuing its appeal.”
The Premier League's PSRs state that a club cannot lose more than £105 million ($133.6 million) over a three-year period.
Everton's figures which led to the sanction showed a fifth consecutive year of losses, with the total loss over that period amounting to more than £430million.
The club said it had recorded a loss of £44.7 million for the 2021-22 season earlier this year.
After three consecutive years of losses of more than £100 million, Everton said they had significantly reduced their losses, down £76 million from last year's loss of £121 million.
Everton were charged again in January for further PSR breaches, alongside Nottingham Forest, but no sanctions have yet been handed out by the league.
“Despite the decision of the appeal committee and its positive outcome, the club remains fully committed to cooperating with the Premier League in the ongoing proceedings initiated for the accounting period ending June 2023,” Everton said of of these accusations in his press release.