Burnley and Leeds United executives ‘prompted’ Everton investigation which led to 10-point deduction – David Ornstein
The Premier League investigation which has now led to Everton being hit by a 10-point deduction is thought to have been “prompted” by Leeds United and Burnley executives, according to The Athletic.
David Ornstein reports via the outlet’s website on 17 November, in the wake of the independent commission’s punishment being announced the same day, that Clarets chairman Alan Pace and Whites CEO Angus Kinnear’s joint letter is “thought to have prompted the Premier League investigation”.
Both clubs had previously been reported as among those considering legal action against the Toffees for compensation over their relegations, Leeds in the summer and Burnley a year earlier as Everton narrowly survived each time under Frank Lampard and then Sean Dyche.
Everton had previously been working closely with the Premier League and, according to Ornstein, had “opened the books” to them [Five Insider, 17 November], but despite this relationship the club were referred to the commission and ultimately found against.
Brought down
Leeds United and Burnley are bound to immediately go down as life-long rivals in the eyes of many fans as a result of this process.
On the face of it clubs being unhappy with a rival apparently breaking the rules and then triumphing in crucial relegation battles at their expense might sound relatively logical.
But it is very hard to see what actual advantage Everton are supposed to have gained in either of the past two seasons as a result of the financial chaos at the club.
The breach is said to be related to interest payments on the new stadium development [Sky Sports, 17 November], and even if it is widely acknowledged that the Toffees spent too heavily in the Farhad Moshiri years as a collective that certainly doesn’t apply to more recent years where it has been little other than austerity.
Needing to sell star men such as Richarlison and Anthony Gordon along the way while struggling mightily to land targets in the transfer market has been a major part of why Everton were in trouble during the period in question.
And since Leeds are in the second tier currently, even if Burnley went down and already came back up, this points deduction is only of benefit to one of them on the face of it.
Everton can’t escape the fact that they have been operating a financial mess at the club in recent years, but it is much less obvious how exactly spending on an as-yet unfinished stadium relates to a competitive advantage in a relegation battle, and further still how the punishment fits the crime.
In other Everton news, the Toffees claimed Tottenham “took advantage” of them for £20million in front of the commission.