Everton facing further punishment for breaking Premier League financial rules; Forest also in breach

LONDON — Everton could be facing another costly punishment for breaking the Premier League’s financial rules.

The competition said Monday that both Everton and Nottingham Forest were being referred to an independent commission for breaching its profitability and sustainability regulations.

The league’s rules allow clubs to lose a maximum of 105 million pounds ($133 million) over a three-year period or face sanctions.

The Premier League said the two clubs have “confirmed” they have sustained losses “above the permitted thresholds for the assessment period ending season 2022-23.” No precise figures were immediately disclosed.

The teams could be punished with a fine or a points deduction, applied this season as part of a fast-tracked process.

Everton has already received a record 10-point deduction for its overspending in the three-year period up to the end of the 2021-22 season. The club has appealed against the severity of that punishment, which plunged the team from Merseyside back into relegation danger.

Everton responded to its latest charge by saying that there was a "clear deficiency in the Premier League’s rules.”

“The club must now defend another Premier League complaint which includes the very same financial periods for which it has already been sanctioned, before that appeal has even been heard,” Everton said in a statement.

“Everton can assure its fans that it will continue to defend its position during the ongoing appeal and, should it be required to do so, at any future commission — and that the impact on supporters will be reflected as part of that process.”

Steve Rotheram, metro mayor for the Liverpool City Region, questioned the transparency of the process.

“The Premier League's announcement today means that Everton potentially face being penalized twice within the same season for alleged breaches covering the same period,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “In short, the club is facing double jeopardy.

“It is difficult to see,” he added, “how anybody can have any confidence in a process as opaque as this.”

Everton, which has been a top-division club since 1954, is currently in fourth-to-last place in the standings, one point and one spot above the relegation zone. Forest is in 15th place, four points above the bottom three.

Forest’s charge comes after a 2022-23 season — its first back in the Premier League after a 23-year absence — when the club made an unprecedented 21 offseason signings at a cost of $160 million. It also spent heavily in the second-tier Championship in a bid to get promoted.

Forest said it acknowledged being charged by the league.

“The club intends to continue to cooperate fully with the Premier League on this matter and are confident of a speedy and fair resolution,” Forest said in a statement.

Manchester City is currently in a legal fight with the Premier League after the competition accused the English and European champions of about 80 alleged breaches of its financial rules from 2009-18 and 30 more relating to its alleged failure to co-operate with an investigation.

The outcome of City's case isn't expected to be known for many months because of the number of alleged breaches involved.

© Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.