Lawyers involved as Kaveh Solhekol shares Everton news live on Sky Sports today
Lawyers from both Everton and the Premier League will speak to an independent commission to determine whether the Merseyside club have breached Financial Fair Play rules in the 2021/22 season, according to Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol.
The charge on the Toffees was announced on Friday (24 March) after a ten-month investigation which began when Burnley and Leeds wrote to the Premier League last May. [The Guardian, 24 March]
Under Premier League rules, clubs are only allowed to lose a maximum of £105million over three years, but the Toffees recorded losses of £371.8million during this period.
Speaking live on Sky Sports (24 March), Solhekol explained that an independent commission would hear representations from lawyers of Everton and the Premier League in private – with the final decision not being made public until the judgment is made.
He said: “Well, now it has been referred to the chair of the judicial panel, he is a man named Murray Rosen KC, and basically what he needs to do now is set up a three-person panel, and the commission will be drawn from three members of the Premier League’s judicial panel.
“There are 15 people he can choose from to form this commission, but it doesn’t have to be members of the commission, he can get on this commission as well.
“The important thing is that it is an independent commission. It’s independent of the Premier League and it is also independent of any of the clubs.
“They will hear representations from both sides, from the Premier League’s lawyers, also from Everton’s lawyers. These hearings will be heard in private, so we will not be there, and the only way we will find out what has happened is when the judgment is released on the Premier League’s website.”
Oh dear
After ten months of silence, Everton have finally been brought into the firing line for their financial records.
This would have been the day that every member of the club would have been dreading, but now that their financial records have been brought into question, they must be fearing the worst.
Accusations surrounding financial issues have been dealt with extremely strictly recently, with Manchester City and Chelsea both recording recent troubles, while several clubs within the EFL have been docked points for financial irregularities.
It would come as no surprise to see the rule book thrown at Everton to set an example, and a points deduction could be realistically on the cards if the club aren’t able to get off from the allegations.
With the case being dealt with in private, it is now a waiting game to see what Everton’s fate will be. Hopefully, a fine will be the result and the club can move forwards away from the spotlight.