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On Friday, it was announced that Everton Football Club had been deducted 10 points — immediately dropping them from 14 points to 4 points, putting them in 19th place in the Premier League — as a result of them breaking FFP (financial fair play) rules.
In the simplest terms, the Premier League allows clubs to lose a maximum of £105m over the course of three years and Everton was found to have lost £124.5m.
The decision has sent shockwaves across the Premier League due to the fact that Manchester City, the league’s dominant force for the last half-decade, is currently facing 115 FFP charges. For comparison, Everton’s 10-point deduction comes from just ONE charge.
Chelsea Football Club is also in a similar situation, as it was recently reported via leaked files that the club might have made payments that broke FFP rules during Roman Abramovich’s tenure as owner, which saw Chelsea become one of Europe’s most powerful teams in the 2000s and the 2010s.
In their official statement, Everton alluded to this by saying that the club will “monitor with great interest the decision made in any other cases concerning the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Everton’s official statement also indicated that they are “shocked and disappointed” by the decision and believe that the punishment is a “wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction.”
Club Statement. https://t.co/RpHdLJRurc pic.twitter.com/hyFfl9vWxO
— Everton (@Everton) November 17, 2023
If City and Chelsea are punished on the same scale as Everton — 10 points per charge — then both clubs could face relegation from the Premier League.
In fact, according to one viral tweet, City could be “docked 1150 points which would put them in the 17th tier of English football – the Lancashire Amateur League along with Old Rivingtonians Reserves and Crompton FC Academy.”
According to Stefan Borson, a lawyer who previously worked with Man City, while he believes the 10-point penalty against Everton is hard, he also believes that it reinforces the fact that City and Chelsea might be next.
Without seeing the judgment/award -10 points for Everton feels harsh for a straightforward FFP breach to me. But reinforces that sanctions against City (if proven) and now Chelsea (if charged and admitted on the off-books payments) will be potentially relegation inducing.
— slbsn (@slbsn) November 17, 2023
Due to the international break, the Premier League is off the weekend and will return on November 25.