Premier League chief Alison Brittain hits back at Andy Burnham over Everton point deduction response
Premier League chief Alison Brittain has hit back at Andy Burnham following his comments surrounding the point deduction given to Everton, according to the Daily Mirror.
The newspaper reported on its website (29 November) that the Premier League chair has written a three-page letter to the Mayor of Greater Manchester after he accused the league of regulatory malpractice in their decision to deduct the Toffees 10 points.
Burnham suggested that Sean Dyche’s side had been used as a pawn by the Premier League in an attempt to show that English football does not require an independent regulator, a claim which Brittain has refuted in her three-page response.
Brittain has named three reasons why the Premier League do not have set sanctions in place. Firstly any rigid penalty would remove the decision maker’s discretion, secondly, no mitigating circumstances could be considered and finally the lack of a fixed sanction posed a greater threat to clubs.
The letter from the Premier League chief also suggests that the Toffees were one of the teams to resist the idea of imposing a set sanction for profit and sustainability breaches back in 2020.
Back and forth
The Premier League were always likely to stand by the independent commission’s decision to deduct Everton 10 points for their breaches, after all, they originally requested that the Toffees would face a 12-point penalty.
Brittain’s response to Burnham seems to show that the Premier League followed the correct procedure throughout their investigation into Everton, but has done very little to deny that the punishment imposed on Dyche’s side was incredibly strict.
It does seem bizarre however that Everton were one of the sides to resist the prospect of a set sanction being introduced should teams break the league’s financial fair play rules. With that vote reportedly coming in 2020, Everton would have known that they were already coming close to facing such a punishment themselves.
This back-and-forth between people in the political and footballing world will likely continue for months to come as each side continues to argue its point. Hopefully, the result of Everton’s appeal, whichever way it ultimately goes, will offer some closure to this discussion.
In other Everton news, Simon Jordan has slammed Burnham over his comments surrounding the Toffees’ point deduction