Chelsea and Manchester City could be relegated from the Premier League following Everton’s 10-point deduction for breach of Financial Fair Play (FFP).
Everton were adjudged to have breached the Pemier League’s threshold, which allowed clubs to lose a maximum of £105 million ($130 million) over a three-year period or face sanctions. The commission that heard the case stated that the Tofees lost £124.5 million and “concluded that a sporting sanction in the form of a 10-point deduction should be imposed. That sanction has immediate effect.”
According to the Daily Mail, Stefan Borson, a former financial advisor to Manchester City, has argued that the sanction imposed on Everton has set a precedent that could see City and Chelsea relegated from the Premier League as both clubs face counts of FFP breaches.
City faces 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, and Chelsea could face scrutiny over alleged payments connected to former owner Roman Abramovich.
In a tweet, Borson argued that Everton’s 10-point deduction was harsh and that Chelsea and Manchester City should be worried.
His words: Without seeing the judgement/award -10 points for Everton feels harsh for a straightforward FFP [Financial Fair Play] 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.
Borson added: ‘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] 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].”
Only two other clubs have received points deductions in Premier League history.
Middlesbrough were deducted three points for failing to fulfill a fixture against Blackburn during the 1996/97 season, while in 2010, Portsmouth were deducted nine points after going into administration. However, both clubs were unable to avoid relegation.
Everton have announced that the club will appeal the ‘harsh’ sanction against the club.
The statement reads: “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.”