Everton FFP charge down to rival club complaints – Sky Sports pundit
We’re delighted to welcome former Everton striker Kevin Campbell as our exclusive columnist. Each week the former Toffees captain will be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Goodison Park…
Kevin Campbell is comfortable for Everton to be investigated over an alleged FFP breach because they have been around the league long enough that it would be “crazy” for them to be breaking the rules now.
A year on from assuring all parties that everything was above board at Goodison Park the Premier League reacted to the latest accounts by referring the club to an independent commission on 24 March, leaving the possibility of transfer embargoes or points deductions on the table.
But Campbell isn’t panicking since Everton have more than enough experience to know what and what not to do, so it would be shocking for them to have been acting out of turn, and feels complaints from elsewhere are more likely to have pushed matters in this way.
In response to the developments the Sky Sports pundit exclusively told Goodison News: “I had no reaction to that. Come in and look, no problem.
“At the end of the day you can make any claim you want. Everton have operated for years and years, and they know what’s needed, they know what’s required.
“Now, I don’t know whether they’ve stepped out of line or not, I’ve know idea. But the fact of the matter is the authorities are going to go in and look.
“So they can make any claim or charge they want but until you actually go in and find out for yourself you’re never going to know.
“I think Everton know they’re way around football. They’ve been in the Premier League since the start, so if they’re doing things wrong now it’s crazy.
“I think that’s more due to other teams having complained. Say there’s an investigation, they’ll go in and have a look, and if FFP’s above board then you sign it off.
“You stamp it and say, ‘No, everything’s above board’.”
Leeds United and Burnley had threatened legal action as the relegation battle approached its peak a year ago, but while the Clarets went down – with current Everton boss Sean Dyche losing his job along the way – nothing came of it at the time.
The Premier League were working in conjunction with the Toffees at that point but in the intervening 12 months something in that relationship has obviously gone awry for them to send down a charge.
Fans, staff, and the hierarchy themselves will be hoping that Campbell’s relaxed view is justified when the independent commission looks into the spending at the club.