Michael Ball reacts to ‘interesting’ Richard Masters to Parliament news after Everton, Nottingham Forest development
Michael Ball has reacted to the “interesting timing” of Richard Masters making an appearance in Parliament the day after Everton were referred to an independent commission for the second time over an alleged profit and sustainability breach.
The former Goodison Park defender took to X on 15 January after a post from the Football Supporters’ Association commenting on the “coincidence” of the Premier League CEO’s timetable this week.
Everton and Nottingham Forest have been accused of breaching spending rules, with the Toffees currently appealing their points deduction from their previous referral this season.
The FSA post after news broke of Everton and Forest’s referral said: “Coincidentally PL CEO Richard Masters is appearing before Parliament tomorrow and he’ll no doubt point to this as evidence that an independent regulator isn’t needed and the PL can manage this stuff in-house. Too late! Independent regulator now.”
In reaction Ball simply wrote: “Interesting timing Richard.”
Convenient
The timeframe for each stage of the newly sped-up process – from submitting accounts on 31 December through to charges and appeals – is designed to see the outcome sorted within days of the season concluding and suggest this is a coincidence.
But it is pretty hefty coincidence for the league chief to be able to head to Westminster and claim his organisation are cracking down on supposed offenders the very next day.
It naturally sounds conspiratorial but once again it is hard to escape the suspicion from an Everton point of view that the whole situation is tied up very neatly to suit Masters’ and the Premier League’s plans when the exact opposite always applies to the club.
Spending on capital developments are supposedly permitted, yet interest payments on the new Everton stadium project then contributes to the club being found in breach and hit by a record-breaking Premier League points deduction.
The Toffees are therefore punished for one spending period, but can then be put in position to be punished again on the same grounds for the next period, which includes more than half of the previous one.
Sean Dyche navigates his side back out of the relegation zone after losing 10 points without kicking a ball only for the hearing process to be altered so penalties are now imposed the same season, meaning, low and behold, he faces a possible second deduction in one campaign.
All the while the first club charged over profit and sustainability rules, Manchester City (who deny their 100-plus charges), continue winning trophies without any sign of an outcome because their case is too complicated to hurry through.
So while it is impossible to absolve Everton of blame entirely for the mess they have brought on themselves under Farhad Moshiri’s ownership it also feels like they have been incredibly naive to wander into the middle of a situation that seemingly only works as and when the system wants it to.
No doubt an independent regulator would bring with it a new set of maddening down-sides but the status quo doesn’t feel particularly even-handed or sustainable.
Clearly, clubs who have neither been accused of a breach or spent huge amounts will be watching on feeling like the Toffees are getting what they paid for, but might themselves have some misgivings about how the whole situation is governed.
In other Everton news, according to Paul Joyce the Toffees rejected a £7million striker who is now sitting on top of the league.