Leeds United and Burnley made pact to support each other against Everton whoever went down
The Premier League could be set for “civil war” over financial “distrust” amid the threat of legal action against the league and Everton, The Telegraph reports.
The Toffees’ two relegation rivals Leeds and Burnley wrote to both last week demanding answers about potential profit and sustainability rule breaks at Goodison.
The Clarets ended up being relegated on the final day (22 May) after losing to Newcastle, but can apparently still count on support from Elland Road if they bring a legal challenge.
The Telegraph reports: “Burnley and Leeds are said to have made a pact to support the other no matter which of them is relegated.”
Sam Wallace writes that there is “scepticism” over how the Premier League reached its decision that Everton were in the clear, despite losses far exceeding the permitted £105million over three years.
Pointing also to the ongoing investigation of Manchester City, he says that the lack of transparency undermines the 20 clubs’ position that they do not need an independent regulator, since there is not enough “belief” in the current regulations “to prevent the kind of civil war that now looms”.
Messy
The relegation battle has unearthed an undignified dispute that indeed threatens to upset the entire landscape of the top flight.
Those in charge at all of the clubs don’t want outside influence interfering with their ability to play around with the vast sums of money present in the Premier League, but aren’t happy with how it is being dealt with in-house.
Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear was so upset at the idea of a regulator in November that he compared the prospect to “Maoist collective agriculturalism” leading to “the greatest famine in history” in his programme notes.
But the current regulatory framework isn’t apparently good enough when Leeds’ Premier League survival was on the line.
The numbers contained in Everton’s accounts over the last three years are concerning, so there’s no surprise there are questions.
But as Wallace suggests, there needs to also be plenty more questions asked of other teams also, and the overall picture looks like one where financial gymnastics are the industry standard.
It is not comforting news for Toffees fans who are attempting to relax after months of relegation worry that their main competition from that battle are so united.
But if something does come of the legal threat, it doesn’t look like they will be the only team that suffers.
In other Everton news, the club are interested in a £30million player who would not necessarily be an upgrade on what they’ve got.
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