Everton have issued a statement following Burnley winning their legal dispute having sued them for breaching Premier League rules
Everton have issued a strongly-worded statement as the ruling of Burnley winning their legal case against them emerged.
The Blues were hit with a 10-point deduction in the 2023-24 campaign, later reduced to six points on appeal, for breaching Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) during the 2021-22 season.
The Clarets’ claim was that, had the deduction been handed out in the 2021-22 campaign, then Everton would have been relegated and Burnley would have stayed in the Premier League.
The Blues finished four points the Clarets, who dropped into the Championship along with Watford and Norwich City.
Everton have been ordered to pay compensation and interest of more than £35m as a result of the ruling.
The Blues have already appealed against the ruling that the club believe is "a dangerous and unworkable precedent for English football" and are confident of success.
They have also reassured supporters that any compensation payment would impact the club's PSR periods for the current period.
The Blues' statement reads as follows: “Everton Football Club is surprised and angered by the decision of a Premier League Independent Disciplinary Commission to order a compensation payment to Burnley Football Club in relation to Everton’s PSR breach in June 2022. Everton has appealed the decision and is clear in its belief the ruling is fundamentally flawed in both law and fact.
“The club does not recognise the findings of the panel in determining Burnley’s relegation from the Premier League in May 2022 was caused by a sporting advantage gained by Everton due to a breach of Profit & Sustainability Rules, for which a substantive sporting sanction has already been received.
“This ruling sets a dangerous and unworkable precedent for English football, given it is constructed on a principle that a club can be in breach of financial rules at any point in a financial year. Everton believes the panel’s ruling misrepresents the clear evidence presented by its legal representatives and that an appeal will be successful.
“The club is confident of its ongoing PSR compliance and has also obtained confirmation from the Premier League of its clear position that this ruling should not be the cause of any future PSR sanction. Evertonians can be assured that ownership are focused, with strengthened resolve, on delivering their vision of returning Everton to the top echelon of English football.
“No further comment will be made on this matter until the appeal process has been successfully concluded.”