“Injustice: Journalist Delivers Everton Financial Verdict After Leicester Ruling”
Dave Powell: Everton Likely to Feel Unfairly Treated After Leicester City Escapes Penalty
A Liverpool Echo journalist reported on 4 September that the Premier League’s poorly drafted rules allowed Leicester City to avoid a points deduction, despite breaching the £105 million limit, while Everton were penalized twice for similar breaches.
Leicester, a newly-promoted team, successfully argued against the deduction, citing that the breach occurred when they were no longer a Premier League club, thus escaping punishment.
The journalist, Powell, highlighted Everton’s frustration, noting that the Toffees faced two separate breaches across two accounting periods, leading to a double punishment within the same season.
Powell wrote, “For Everton, it brings back the feelings of being on the end of a heavy hand by the Premier League, one where they had to pay the price for two separate breaches in two different accounting periods across two seasons, but being landed with the double punishment in the same season.
It also sees one of their Premier League counterparts who were tipped to struggle this season avoid being hamstrung by a points deduction for a breach.”
The key argument in Leicester’s case was their financial breach timing.
Had they not adjusted their financial year, the outcome could have been different.
This loophole in the Premier League’s regulations allowed Leicester to escape consequences that Everton could not avoid.
Everton fans and officials have every reason to be frustrated with the Premier League’s inconsistent application of financial regulations.
The fact that Leicester managed to evade punishment based on a technicality while Everton faced severe consequences for similar infractions highlights a significant disparity in the league’s governance.
This situation not only raises questions about competitive fairness but also challenges the integrity and consistency of financial oversight in English football.
The disparity in how these cases were handled may fuel Everton’s sense of being unfairly targeted, prompting broader discussions on the fairness and clarity of the Premier League’s financial regulations.
