Leeds United were once considering similar legal action following Premier League relegation in 2023.
Burnley look set to push ahead with plans to sue Everton after being named alongside Leeds United, Leicester City and others looking to claim compensation following relegation back in 2023.
A report at the time claimed Leeds, Leicester City, Burnley and Southampton could all look to claim compensation from Everton due to a loss of earnings following a relegation which may not have happened, had the Merseyside club not breached PSR. There has been little information surrounding the issue since but it has now emerged that Turf Moor chiefs will push on with their plans to sue.
The i report that Burnley’s case against Everton will start this week, with the Clarets claiming around £50million compensation after being relegated at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. Turf Moor chiefs plan to argue their rivals gained a sporting advantage because of a PSR breach which resulted in survival at their cost.
Burnley finished 18th during the 2021/22 campaign, four points behind 16th-placed Everton with Leeds in-between. Had the Toffees’ six-point deduction been handed out at the time, they would have taken up the final relegation place with the Clarets’ and the Whites both surviving.
The i detail how lawyers on both sides have been preparing their case for around one year, with a private hearing to get underway this week at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in St Paul’s, London. There is no timescale for the process and any verdict may never go public.
Could Burnley sue Everton for £50m?
The report adds that Burnley have been able to bring the claim forward due to being relegated during a season in which Everton’s PSR breaches took place. They will have to prove the Merseyside club gained a sporting advantage as a result of that breach in order to claim compensation.
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Had Everton’s second points deduction, worth two points, been handed out during the 2022/23 campaign in which they breached PSR rules, Leeds would still have been relegated based on the final table. The Whites eventually finished 19th and while the Toffees would have dropped into the relegation zone, it would have been Leicester who survived.
"We were aware of some of the Fair Play issues going on at Everton," former Leeds boss Jesse Marsch said on the issue back in February 2024. "Obviously Leeds United was a part of the original lawsuit that started to push the button to challenge the status of Everton.
"It's always hard for any of us to understand exactly what are the charges, what exactly happened. With me and my football club, it was just about focusing on what we could control and performing the best that we could under the circumstances. However, obviously looking back, it would have been nice to experience some of those points deductions in the years that they were happening and the years I was at Leeds United."
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