Lawyer makes ‘incentivise’ prediction after ‘momentous’ Everton points deduction
It was a “momentous” decision from the Premier League to deduct 10 points from Everton, according to Nii Anteson, a partner in the sport group at the Sheridans law firm.
As per BBC Sport (17 November), the Toffees were handed the punishment after breaching the league’s profit and sustainability rules.
The sanction takes place with immediate effect, with Everton dropping from 14th place to 19th place in the league table.
“It is a momentous decision and there are some key takeaways for other clubs, but it really is quite distinctive from the Manchester City and Chelsea cases,” Anteson told the ECHO.
“Other clubs will look at this, particularly the line from the Everton representative (as detailed in the independent commission’s report) around their role being like that of a tax accountant, for them to interpret the rules in a way that favours the club.
“The commission was quite clear that the duty of good faith to the league and to each other trumps that. I think it will incentivise clubs to adhere more strictly to the profit and sustainability rules. I think the Premier League was quite keen, maybe with the spectre of this independent regulator coming down the line, that the clubs adhere strictly to the rules.”
Huge
Everton fans simply won’t want to hear that their case is different from the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea, with Toffees supporters feeling very hard done by lately.
Of course there is still a long way to go in the final outcome of all the cases, and that is the same for the one concerning Everton given how the club are appealing the decision.
For now, however, other clubs in the top flight will undoubtedly take notice of the events at Goodison Park, primarily because they will want to steer well clear of any points deductions.
It is a huge blow for Sean Dyche and his players, who had only just started to grind out some impressive results. Their hard work on and off the pitch saw the Merseyside club climb to 14th place in the standings, but the points deduction has brought them crashing back down to earth.
In other Everton news, Kaveh Solhekol has made a Toffees Premier League relegation prediction on Sky Sports following their 10-point deduction.