Everton's fight against Premier League censure goes on

But if four of us are in the brown stuff come April and we are "gifted" back say 4 points, then there'd be blood on the moon. The lawyers must be rubbing their hands…

It isn't the manager, players or most importantly, the supporters who should be punished. It is those responsible for the financial (not football) situation they placed the club into.

You are right. It isn't the manager, players or most importantly, the supporters who should be punished. It is those responsible for the financial (not football) situation they placed the club into.

And how exactly does that happen? The main culprit has passed and his two acolytes have taken their obscene payoffs and refused to appear at the first hearing.

If it was up to me, they should both be disbarred from holding directorships in the future for breaches of the 2006 Companies Act and Ingles should be reported to the Institute of Chartered Accountants and struck off.

As for imposing personal financial penalties – we have more chance of winning the Champions League next season.

Losses of £111 million (for the 2018-19 period) will be dropping out of the previous calculation. It was that calculation that led to the 10-point deduction.

This is all as I understand it but maybe one of our accountants can confirm the position. I look forward to an update from Paul the Esk. Let us hope we will not face the possibility of a further points deduction.

The Premier League is entwined in UEFA. They can't make shit up as they go along.

Happy to be corrected, but in any case, it strengthens the Everton case this piece is describing.

I can feel a few squeaky bums and loosening of ties to release sweat and stress at the Premier League HQ near Paddington.

Fight with all our might, Everton. Do not take this lying down. We are guilty of nothing other than being open and honest. Unlike others.

In my opinion, the Premier League needs to wipe the slate clean and start afresh. Otherwise, there are countless clubs out there they need to go after.

The Premier League executive seem to be waiting until the noise dies down, let them know that nobody has forgotten and that all must be treated, and penalized, in the same manner.

However, if they reverse the decision (which should be the preferred action, for the reasons set out by the ECJ) and gives us back the points, the noise from the bottom 5/6 clubs will last all season and probably into the next one.

Even if I was a neutral, the prospect of a shit, unaccountable organization getting a kicking is a joy to behold.

"The European Court of Justice (ECJ), formally just the Court of Justice (French: Cour de Justice), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law."

Source: Wikipedia

Chris #8, here's a correction on that. The European Court of Justice (now formally known as simply the Court of Justice) is the Supreme Court of the European Union in matters of EU law. Their very specific job is to interpret EU law and make sure it is applied equally across all EU nations. It comprises one half of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Wikipedia has a decent article on it.

The Council of Europe is a separate organization and has no legal arm.

From the start of this process, Everton and the Premier League, 2 years prior to the Commission, had appeared to have been in cahoots. Well, at least Everton appeared to believe so, until they were referred to the Commission and realised after sanctions that rule changes took place as the Commission deliberated. It was all very ad-hoc and I doubt seeing the minutes of meetings would change that opinion.

The only reasonable reference for the sanctions is the English Football League Profitability and Sustainability Rules, which they appear to mirror. It is no surprise that, under scrutiny, they appear not appropriate and unlikely to be consistent in application to other clubs who find themselves in similar circumstances to Everton.

Wouldn't it look better for the league if we were the ones to bring their whole regulatory process down instead of one of the leagues favourites like City?
It would save them alot of face if we were the ones to beat the system and then they go "oh we can't punish city or Chelsea either !!

Stinks the lot of it !!

Neither the PL or the Commission have covered themselves in glory in even the administration of this matter.

Nearly as embarrassing as how Everton have been run for 10-20 years.

In this case they will probably decide to press on with their charade as the cost of doing what you suggest (they would think) would be too great for them to stomach.

They would probably think that a better solution would be to do nothing except press on regardless and fight each little battle as comes along.

This of course is going to throw up problems for us as the saga will continue to the end of the season which may result in who knows what, maybe even relegation. Is that something to keep them awake at night though. I doubt it would even cross their minds.

David (19) Tangled webs eh! Y'know what it looks like to me? After reading two True Blues posts Matt Stansbury and Andy Burnham, it looks like either the Premier League are supremely arrogant(almost certainly are!) but rather crafty as well.

After Matt and Andy's involvement, it looks like the PL have set up the Independent Commission so that

a) If they can get away with this laughingly called "Judgement" of the Independent Commission, their view appears to have been "We can set this penalty... cos we want to!"

b) If they don't get away with it. The "Judgement and Penalty" can be laid at the feet of the Independent Commission who the PL can blame it on.

Either way, the PL can come out smelling, if not like roses, (at least not the brown stuff. )

That might well get them off the hook on the Man City, Chelsea cases to come.

It might also give them some room to breathe, when Parliament gets involved.

I wonder if there is any higher court our club could go to if the crooked crew maintain their stance and take points of us...either the ten, or less.

I have no doubt these barristers all know each other and a quiet word here and there, or a wee handshake at the next Lodge meeting, may be beneficial

Regardless of the final outcome, Masters and his cohorts have to go.

Why should Ingles be struck off?

There are many on here who argue Everton did nothing wrong at all or that at most the P&S breach was some minor accounting technical issue.

Seems a harsh call for the man to be struck off if either of those views are in any way accurate.

The self-serving ass-kissing leeches he put in the boardroom kept schtum on the reality - period, in total dereliction of their lawful duty as directors etc etc, choosing instead to repeatedly echo Moshiri's bullshit.

Then when it came to the crunch Moshiri alone decided to represent himself/us and at last admitted his guilt!

We then got majorly fucked by a panel made up of like-minded morons such as Moshiri - all unaccountable to a "T".

So, apart from the possible restoration of a point or two this season, what else do we have to look forward to this year?

A ground we'll never own - or fill if we're relegated, the unwelcome sale in January/Summer of a few highly rated (by people outside of Finch Farm) players perhaps, or our acquisition by un/incredible shysters from foreign climes?

Happy New Year?

Notwithstanding all of that, there is a definite stink about all of this. Management by nuance, nods and winks at the executive level of the FA. Cocktail-bar governance and what it is really, that Fox Sports require?

Soon…maybe?

I hope so, because the status quo sucks!

The problem was that the Post Office, under 300-year-old legislation specific to it, could prosecute directly to the highest court, without due legal process. Furthermore, the Post Office staff responsible were not subject to the normal legal accountability of other legal representation.

The process was self-regulatory and of course a lot was covered up. This is still the case, since a change in the Law would leave the government open to compensation claims. No-one has been held accountable directly for the flaws that resulted in the largest miscarriage of justice in the UK.

The Premier League can decide the process, rules and sanctions. It evidently can change the rules when the process is ongoing and the sanctions can be decided without any reference.

The first club that collaborated with the process finds itself sanctioned without rhyme or reason and is still involved in a process it does not know the outcome of. What's more, everything the Premier League has put forward as a process is now stalemated by legal contentions. It is just another example of self-regulatory cover-up.

It will take years to sort out. It has been assumed that the Premier League and the Government know best and there is proper process; this is all far from the case.

Sorry to have to say but our club administration's history doesn't indicate having either the ability or the backbone for a fight or getting things done properly.

A points deduction is clearly wrong and unjust for all the reasons previously mentioned and the 10-point deduction should be removed immediately.

Whether the club pleads on the basis of feeling coerced into the admission based on the change in application of guidance, is yet to be seen.

I've always said there seems to be something very fishy about the whole process – from both sides of the fence. The charges themselves are trumped up. Everton's defence seems very weak. The Premier League are making an example for sure, but are the Everton board trying to shield themselves from a deeper investigation?

If only the Premier League and their officials could do the same.

If they are setting this precedent, they apply it to all clubs.

Don't back down Everton.

The decision was, I think, unexpected, given the Court did not follow the advice of the Advocate General. Proportionality is going to be the key as I read the various comments on the case. It will be for the Appeals Commission to rule on this and they will have to pay regard to this decision.

Our lawyers, I am sure, will be fully au fait with the judgment. I would expect the appeal by Everton to be amended to deal with this decision. Then, the Premier League will have to amend its case.

From our perspective, we need this process to move forward as rapidly as possible. It must not be allowed to be delayed until April or May – that would be grossly unfair to all parties. So maybe, just maybe, the sacrificial lamb is fighting back!

"So guilty of openness, transparency and honesty"

Three words I always associate with the Everton owner and Board.

When it goes to court, and they are found guilty, will they be punished retrospectively and have all the trophies confiscated?

Not a chance! We're the fall guys, and we'll never get those points back, despite our honesty and transparency!

And all of a sudden, we are now 7 points clear, needing just a point or 2 to mathematically survive and nothing resting on the last game as Bongo sees his title challenge fade into the distance knowing that on the last game the opponents have nothing to play for except stick it up their loveable neighbours and go down 7-0.

What is not to like??

However, I think by 24th April we will be well clear.

That would be great if it is correct and I very much doubt that Paul would be putting that out unless his sources were correct.

I was troubled by the article in the Echo tonight which said that the Club's position was we were operating responsibly and with transparency.

Maybe, however, that was a dig at the Premier League given the comments in the ECJ decision regarding lack of transparency on sanctions. We can but see how this unfolds over the next few weeks.

I see he has turned up at Burnley in a CFO advisory capacity.
Link

I will be surprised if we get any points back – if we are to retain our Premier League status we will have to do it ourselves – the hard way.

The arseholes at the FA are screwing so many things up – why should Everton expect any changes that benefit them.

They have to go it alone and get enough of the remaining points to keep clear of the dross below them.

Having said that, we need a lift but, without the influx of big Middle East money or American dollars, it will be doubly hard to attract any decent players to help improve the squad.

With Calvert-Lewin struggling and neither Beto or Chermiti up to snuff, we are going to need stern defensive performances to eke out the points we need.

Losing Doucoure has cost us a goal or two at a vital time.

My reading of the situation was that Sasha Ryazantsev ran the finances on behalf of Moshiri and cleared off in July 2021 when it was obvious we were heading for trouble. From that point onwards, it was left to Ingles to fathom a way out of the mess which plainly he failed to do.

It was obvious that the Chairman was in control and that the major shareholder was not on the Board and seemed to be at arm's length, only attending one or two AGMs.

Everton do not have AGMs now and, though a Director now, we never hear from Moshiri. Who is Chairman of the Board now?

As for who is chairman of the board, I would ask: Have we even got a board? If we have, I don't know who is on it. I know Kevin Thelwell is the Director of Football but what does that even mean in the current set up?

It looks to me like Colin Chong is running the show and reporting to Farhad Moshiri who probably put him in charge because he is the only senior executive who has performed well over the past few years.

It is a dog's breakfast at the moment but one thing I am absolutely sure of is that we have to get right behind the team and the manager because they are the ones who have the potential to get us to a place of safety.

As I see things, the battle we are in will be won or lost at Goodison and various football pitches up and down the country over the next 18 games.

Fighters is what we need just now. Unfortunately we have been without two of our best in the last few games, Doucoure and Gueye. Hopefully they will be back for Villa.

He is CFO at Burnley now – talk about a conflict of interest.

It was clearly amateur hour when this verdict was handed down. The whole thing was a shambles.

Reinstate the points, Premier League – the sooner the better.

It wouldn't surprise me if they now welcome the regulator as it'll allow them to wash their hands of dealing with Man City and Chelsea.

All the more reason, with this change of governance coming in, that we don't become the forgotten victim of Premier League corruption.

Their backgrounds were in finance and they were directors. They weren't Chief Executive Officers. In reality, Everton did not have a Chief Executive Officer and a small board was just a rubber stamp for a controlling Chairman.

Moshiri wanted that and was always supportive of it. Why? Because he or those financing him wanted to do what they like, without governance or accountability. They did not want to be questioned at an AGM, and ended that. They even did not attend matches under a trumped up excuse, though Moshiri was absent prior to that.

The result was that the Club was run not as an enterprise to achieve profitability, but as an organisation trying to get away with whatever it could and maintain positions for those getting a salary. High wages and Directors' remuneration were the order of the day, no matter what the performance.

Actually, the only accountability was when the Premier League came in under potential breaches of the Profitability and Sustainability Rules and demanded under those rules that Everton go through a monitoring period, and that the major shareholder provide a letter guaranteeing future funding.

It should be no surprise that the Premier League via the Commission were able to do what they liked and felt entitled they could.

Yes, Laurie, it is questionable whether a Board actually exists. The Premier League is finding itself under scrutiny, but not by Everton.

I still don't know how Chelsea and Man City will escape any points deduction. Oh, hang on… yeah I do. Media darlings and Champions League clubs.

Everton, being a more recent case to endure what is deemed to be a harsh and over-zealous punishment, for what appears to be a minor transgression with mitigating circumstances, given Covid restrictions.

The Premier League will open a can of worms in future P&S decisions, without consistency with regard to other transgressions, and Everton should be looking on, and drawing parallels on those decisions.

Will that give the Premier League an easy way out by not punishing clubs in the future? Will it be a show of weakness by the Premier League?

If our appeal fails, will other clubs will be exposed to the same punishments?

We have a chance to get out of this footballing-wise as there are 3 worse teams up to now in the Premier League. We need to get back on track and start picking up points.

I don't agree with us being made scapegoats as other clubs have abused the rules for years and got away with it. I am more than interested to see how this all plays out as it will either reinforce the preferential treatment of the rich clubs or could lead to something more constructive.

Whichever way this plays out, it is glaringly obvious the Premier League needs to revamp spending rules and transfer dealings.

It appears that Forest, who have signed over 40 players since getting promoted, will not be entitled to the full £105M allowable losses over a 3-year period as they were in the Championship for 2 of them, when, according to some reports, only £13m worth of losses per season are permitted.

Given that they reported losses of £61M over the accounting period 2021-23, it is difficult to see how they can stay within the rules when they signed over 30 players in the two transfer windows last season – even with the sale of Brennan Johnson.

If they also face a points deduction, it will be interesting to see whether any sliding scale is applied. Could they be deducted even more than 10 points?

Everton's legal team should be watching this development like a hawk.

Don't even get me started on Chelsea.

They wipe the slate clean. Issue a clearly defined process and a truly independent regulator for future investigations. Not some 1890s Gentlemen's pipe-smoking club in central London.

They reduce our point reduction by at least half. But then they still have to go after others.

They dig their heels in. But then they definitely have to go after others as they have set a precedent. And it has to be proportional to our 10 points for £19.5M.

It was being reported by some sections of the press that we may have transgressed again, but Paul the Esk has said he understands that Everton have complied with the rules.

Very interesting to read Nottingham Forest have already employed a sports lawyer to prepare their case so I can only assume they must have broken the P&S rules.

I am sure this is a worrying time for the Premier League as they thought that, apart from Everton, they had kicked the City enquiry into the long grass by saying the enquiry into them wouldn't begin until the end of next year.

Also, Chelsea have admitted that under Abramovich he made payments that didn't go through the books; seeing they have admitted breaking the rules, why has no date been set for them to appear before the commission?

I just hope we are better prepared for the appeal hearing more than we seemed to be for the original hearing, Andy Burnham has raised some significant issues that were not raised at the original hearing.

Also, I don't understand all the secretive approach on when the appeal hearing will take place and when will the appeal hearing make its judgement known. After all, depending on the outcome, this will affect other clubs, and they deserve to know the results at the earliest possible time.

I thought it had been announced that the appeal would be heard in January with the outcome announced by the end of the month?

A few years ago, 1999 to be precise, Derby County signed an Argentinian player – Esteban Fuertes. He was gash – scored 2 goals. One of them the winner against guess who?

He was also refused entry back into the UK when it was discovered the Italian passport he had was a bit fake.

What would the rules be for this situation? Replay the games? Award 3-0 victories to other teams? We'll never know, because Everton, as ever, didn't raise a peep.

Could you imagine the drama from other clubs?

This is where their lack of transparency will be in their favour; there's no published formula for points deductions, so they will be able to tailor any punishments on a case-by-case basis. Not great news for Forest but good for the likes of Chelsea.

I still think we'll get most if not all of our points back, but this needs to happen sooner rather than later. If the reinstated points lift us away from the drop zone in April there will be uproar.

I think some have said they have heard that the appeal will be heard in January, but nothing from the Premier League to confirm or when the appeal hearing result will be known.

Surely it's not hard to say when the appeal will sit and what date they expect the results of the appeal to be published?

I expect the Premier League and their cronies and phoney review board to concede nothing.

It's a double-edged sword and will set the wheels in motion for industrial scale and civil-style investigations and court cases related to the Premier League.

There is no governance and integrity, and a watershed could be set in terms of their final decision on Everton.

Nottm Forest, Bournemouth, Newcastle Utd, Chelsea and Man City... They will be next and on scale and punishment, should be proportionate to their financial crimes.

Hopefully this year can become a turning point in Everton's fortunes, on and off the park.

UTFTs!

Would the teams that got relegated, having stayed within the rules at the time, have a case against the Premier League?

All your comments are spot on.

Sadly most fans seem to have hidden from the fact that our beloved club was run by a crook who sold out (with caveats) to a Russian crook and his puppet.

They are now trying to offload to a host of miscellaneous crooks umbrellaed under the name 777 Partners. (More caveats ??? Who knows).

As for the Premier League… What a joke. Even bigger bunch of incompetents and gold diggers. They have failed (frequently) at every level on just about everything needed to run the Premier League. Have done for years… They set unenforceable rules which confuse and misrepresent.

With FFP, they half concocted a set of something pretending it to be a regulation. Which is full of contradictions, ifs, buts and maybes.

To cap that, they failed to list any punitive sentences agreed to by known signatories governing the clubs and agreed by the Premier League authorities for breaches. So they make it up. It's done on a wing and a prayer.

The independent panel wasn't. The punishment was issued without explanation, which opposes everything a judicial system is based upon.

If Everton were run straight, and by a half-honest enterprise, they would have taken this to a law court and had the Premier League fat cats coughing up resignation notices.

Who knows.

Let's hope there's no more financial penalties for Everton.

A timeline of the Premier League's standard directions for PSR complaints shows that the rules are unrealistic, create real and avoidable uncertainty, and should be re-written 🧵1/8 Source: Matt Stanbury

Unfortunately I can't access the other seven pages of his 'Tweets'.

Date Event
31 Dec Clubs submit Accounts
14 Jan PL file any PSR Breach complaints
28 Jan Clubs respond to any charges
04 Apr Directions hearing before commission
07 Apr Final Hearing before commission to conclude
21 Apr Appeal to be filed by club
28 Apr PL Respond to the appeal in writing
19 May End of Premier League season
24 May Appeal hearing to be heard on or before this date.

P&S Schedule 2023/24

I can't argue with you regarding 777 Partners. With nominee and offshore companies holding shares, it will never be known who actually is behind them. Moshiri is in the driving seat and I can't see him not being told who to deal with.

I have always thought that our Chairman with the Chief Executive Officer on various Premier League committees, even holding the Premier League's hand during the European Super League coup attempt, believed he had the inside track regarding dealing with the Premier League and had Moshiri convinced of this. This was the basis of cooperative Everton.

It was a shock when the Premier League shafted them both… and an even a bigger shock when the club's weak defence fostered by a continuing belief, resulted in a large points deduction and possible compensation claims.

George #48,

Thanks for the information. No Chairman required… That really suits Moshiri. It also suits his total control and arm's length approach. Which one of the directors is going to put their wages on the line and vote against him?

Given those dates, I'd expect our appeal to be heard within the next 10 days.

The case we are dealing with is under the 2022-23 rules – not the 2023-24 rules.

Matt Stanbury seems to think we will get the outcome of the appeal in March. It is all speculation. I simply fail to see why we cannot be told the timeline for this.

I know there's been a change with the whole process kicking off that bit earlier with submission of accounts to the Premier League now 31 December.

I just feel that the timing of the stages that follow won't necessarily have changed. For example, the Premier League are still committed to file any PSR breaches within 14 days which represents no change from 22/23.

Pure idle speculation (largely brought about by Dry January) on my part though.

This is a link to the UK government website for your reference in case of any future changes: Companies House: Everton Officers

You will see that Everton have added a Company Secretary last November. This is a very important position and could be an indication that future events that require a Company Secretary are expected to happen. Everton have not had a Company Secretary since October 2017 according to the list of officers.

I agree that the Company Secretary is a very important position. Thank you for pointing out that Everton have surprisingly have only recently appointed one.

Brendan #69,

I was of the same opinion as you regarding dates.

Is the appeals committee only compelled to consider the matters contained in the appeal submission (which would not have referenced this ruling)?

I don't believe we have the opportunity to introduce fresh matters to the appeal or even have recourse through the courts if we're unhappy with the outcome of the appeal.

But the UK government also doesn't see a problem with Chelsea's new sleeve sponsors BingX who it is said have close ties to Russia, according to the Telegraph report I saw the headline for earlier this morning.

I wouldn't imagine that the government would be quite so relaxed about Everton being sponsored with any company that has any ties to Russia, but I could be wrong.

So we can bring back Usmanov?

That probably explains it.

It explains why we haven't had a Company Secretary for a few years but not why Everton have felt the need to appoint one now who is a solicitor to boot.

Some complicated stuff coming up, needing a safe pair of hands, perhaps?

Yes, that is probably the case. FCA milling around and a complicated takeover with requirements.

Also, 777 Partners have indicated that they are only willing to continue providing money for the day-to-day running of the club till the end of January, so if the Premier League haven't decided by then if they pass the fit and proper test, how would we survive going into administration?

If reports are correct, 777 Partners will have pumped in between £80M and £100M by the end of January, which just highlights what a mess we are in financially. We have a £200M loan from Rights & Media Funding, £100M from MSP Capital, plus the money 777 Partners have put in.

I know Paul the Esk has said that the interest repayments on the Rights & Media loan and the MSP loan are costing £32M a year. Should 777 Partners not be cleared to take over, they will also require their debt to be paid back.