Chelsea and Man City ‘could face relegation’ after Everton points deduction

Everton deducted 10 points for breach of Premier League financial rules

Chelsea and Manchester City have been warned that Everton’s 10-point deduction may set a powerful precedent for their own punishments if they are found guilty of allegedly breaching financial rules. The Premier League confirmed on Friday that Everton would be docked points for alleged breaches following a five-day hearing, which took place last month.

The deduction saw Everton drop to 19th place in the Premier League table, with the Toffees only hovering above bottom club Burnley on goal difference. They have already outlined their plan to appeal the decision, which came after they were referred to an independent commission in March for alleged breaches relating to the 2021/22 campaign.

Stefan Borson, a lawyer who has advised City, reacted to the news on social media by suggesting that the Premier League champions and Chelsea could face even harsher sanctions if they are found to have broken financial rules. City were hit with 115 charges of allegedly breaching the regulations earlier this year, while Chelsea are facing scrutiny over alleged payments connected to former owner Roman Abramovich.

Borson wrote: “Without seeing the judgement/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.

FULL STORY: Everton docked 10 points in Premier League for FFP rule breach

“One thing is for sure, given the scale of this sporting sanction, Chelsea’s calculus (in my opinion) that they could breach PL P&S [profit and sustainability rules] and just take a fine as a cost of doing business, must be in urgent and immediate reconsideration. The January window may be interesting.

“Even in the best case, they can no longer rely on being able to convince an independent commission to accept their Covid and sanctions allowances as exceptional adjustments (to the extent that was the plan).”

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The news of Everton’s points deduction on Friday came after they posted losses of around £370million between 2018 and 2021, according to The Athletic. Premier League financial rules state that clubs are only permitted to lose a maximum of £105m over a three-year period.

Everton could have been fined or given a transfer embargo but have instead been docked points in an unprecedented move, which marks the biggest sporting sanction handed down to a club in Premier League history. They are now two points adrift of safety and will be desperate to climb out of the drop zone before the campaign draws to a close.

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