Everton found guilty of financial breach as unprecedented punishment confirmed

Everton have been hit with a hefty points deduction for a breach of Premier League financial rules.

The Toffees were referred to independent commission for an alleged breach of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules. Everton said they would robustly defend their position.

The commission met last month and have now come up with a conclusion - with Everton being slapped with a deduction of 10 points. The Blues will lodge an appeal against the decision.

However, should that be unsuccessful, it will drag the Toffees into a relegation battle. Everton have narrowly secured top-flight survival in the past two seasons, staying up on the final day in 2022-23. The deduction takes them to second-bottom of the Premier League this season, having accrued 14 points so far.

An Everton statement said: "Everton Football Club is both shocked and disappointed by the ruling of the Premier League’s Commission.

"The Club believes that the Commission has imposed a wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction. The Club has already communicated its intention to appeal the decision to the Premier League. The appeal process will now commence and the Club’s case will be heard by an Appeal Board appointed pursuant to the Premier League’s rules in due course.

"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.

"The Club will also monitor with great interest the decisions made in any other cases concerning the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules. Everton cannot comment on this matter any further until the appeal process has concluded."