Leeds and Burnley might be about to battle each other on Sunday in the battle to avoid the dreaded 18th spot in the Premier League, but the two clubs might be joining forces to mount a legal challenge over Everton’s alleged breach of Premier League Financial Fair Play rules.
ESPN have reported that Leeds and Burnley wrote to the Premier League earlier this week concerning Everton’s published accounts for the 2020-21 season, which reported a loss of £120.9m. That means they have made losses of £372m over the past three years, while League profitability and sustainability rules only allowing for losses of £105m over a three-year period.
Everton are claiming that they haven’t broken any rules, as the losses to be taken into account can exclude any due to the loss of revenue resulting from the pandemic. But these losses amount to a mere £170m, which leaves other losses of just over £200m, still above the permitted limit. So Leeds and Burnley believe that Everton have had an unfair advantage in spending on transfers, even though they haven’t exactly got value for money from some of their biggest signings.
And despite their previous losses their spending continued in the most recent transfer window, with an outlay of £33m on new permanent signings, as well as taking Donny van de Beek and Anwar El Ghazi on loan. Even though they did recoup £27m with the sale of Lucas Digne to Aston Villa, this outlay is in stark contrast to our spending precisely nothing during the same period.
The penalties for breaching the Premier League's profit and financial stability rules include financial penalties or, in serious cases, a points deduction. So Leeds and Burnley have asked the League what action they intend to take, and have called for an independent commission to sit before the end of June to resolve the issue in time for next season.
And there is another issue that could possibly save us if we finish third bottom, as Chelsea’s takeover needs to be completed by the May 31st deadline so they can start the 2022/3 season. There are still doubts that they will be able to prove that Roman Abramovic won’t get any of the proceeds of the sale.
So it seems that the games on Sunday might not settle the relegation issue after all, and perhaps even Watford could be reprieved from the drop. Watch this space.