Jan 15, 2024, 11:33 AM ET
Everton have been charged by the Premier League for breaching the division’s Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) for a second time, having already faced a 10-point deduction this season, according to the league.
Nottingham Forest have also been charged with breaches of the same policies.
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“Everton FC and Nottingham Forest have each confirmed to the Premier League that they are in breach of the league’s PSR,” the league said in a statement. This is as a result of sustaining losses above the permitted thresholds for the assessment period ending 2022-23.”
“In accordance with Premier League rules, both cases have now been referred to the chair of the judicial panel, who will appoint separate commissions to determine the appropriate sanction.”
Should Everton be found guilty by the independent Premier League commission, they could face a further points deduction, as could Forest.
Everton faced a 10-point deduction in November for breaching the same set of Premier League regulations. Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Premier League regulations stipulate that a club can lose no more than £105 million ($133.6m) over a three-year period.
Everton’s appeal to overturn that initial deduction is ongoing, and in a statement released on Monday, said they would “continue to defend its position” in that process and accused the league’s lawmaking of being deficient.
The Merseyside club said the new charges comprise of numbers from three seasons — 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 — for which they have already been punished, as well as new data from the 2022-23 season.
“The Premier League does not have guidelines which prevent a Club being sanctioned for alleged breaches in financial periods which have already been subject to punishment, unlike other governing bodies, including the EFL,” Everton said in the release.
“As a result — and because of the Premier League’s new commitment to deal with such matters ‘in-season’ — the Club is in a position where it has had no option but to submit a PSR calculation which remains subject to change, pending the outcome of the appeal.
“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. The Club takes the view that this results from a clear deficiency in the Premier League’s rules.”
“Nottingham Forest acknowledges the statement from the Premier League confirming that the club has today been charged with a breach of the league’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules,” Forest said in a statement.
“The club intends to continue to cooperate fully with the Premier League on this matter and are confident of a speedy and fair resolution.”
The commissions are independent of the Premier League and its clubs, and will hear the cases in private. The decisions taken will be made public by the Premier League.
Everton are 17th in the Premier League standings as a result of the initial deduction, one place and one point above the relegation zone.
Forest are 15th, four points clear of Luton in 18th place. They become the third club to have been charged by the Premier League, following Everton and champions Manchester City.
Forest were in the second-tier Championship until 2022, where clubs are permitted a maximum loss of £39m ($49.6m) across three seasons, or £13m ($16.6m) per season, meaning their permissible losses over the last three campaigns would add up to £61m ($77.7m).
Upon their promotion ahead of the 2022-23 season, Forest broke the record for most transfers by a Premier League club in the close-season window with 21 separate deals completed.
Earlier this year, Manchester City were also referred to an independent commission over more than 100 alleged breaches of finance rules since the club were acquired by the Abu Dhabi-based City Football Group in 2008. No verdict has been reached in that case.
Clubs in England’s top flight have been docked points before, with Middlesbrough having three points deducted in 1997 when they failed to fulfil a fixture, while Portsmouth were given a nine-point penalty in 2010 when the financially-troubled club entered administration.
Information from Reuters was used in this reporting.
