Burnley, along with Leeds United, are threatening to take legal action against the Premier League and Everton, with both clubs believing that the Toffees have seriously breached financial rules.
A letter was sent last week by Burnley and Leeds, outlining that they reserve the right to take legal action against Everton and the Premier League.
They also demanded details of any action or investigation the league has started after Everton recorded a total loss of £371.8 million over the last three years.
Currently, the league’s profit and financial sustainability rules allow clubs to mount up a total of £105 million in losses over a three year period or face sanctions which can include points deduction for any serious breaches.
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Losses as a result of the Covid pandemic can be written off, but both Burnley and Leeds argue that media reports and Companies House filings show the Covid related losses from Everton are more than triple of clubs of a similar size.
Everton announced in March that £170 million of the losses were due to the ‘dramatic and ongoing financial impact’ of the Covid pandemic. But their number was far more than other clubs within the league, Aston Villa stated that £56 million was lost due to the pandemic and Newcastle said they lost a total of £40 million.
An Everton spokesperson told The Times: “We have worked so closely with the Premier League to make sure we are compliant we are comfortable we have complied with the rules.”
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“External auditors have told us what we can and cannot claim against the pandemic. If they want to take legal action then they can do so by all means.”
It remains to be seen what, if any, action will be taken regarding this issue, but this is not something Everton fans would want to be worrying about especially after the club worked so hard to stay in the Premier League this season.
Everton will play out their season at the Emirates as they face Arsenal this weekend.
Topics: Premier League, Everton, Burnley, Leeds United
Marcus Chan