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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Connor O'Neill

Everton fans suffer again as club hit with another bombshell

It was April 21, 2021, when Farhad Moshiri popped up on talkSPORT.

Unlike his visits to the station before and after this appearance, the Everton majority shareholder was not on to issue a firm defence of himself or his club.

Instead, he was on to tell the Premier League that they should deduct points from the 'Big Six' for their part in the controversial European Super League proposals.

READ MORE: Everton rivals predict their final position in Premier League shock

READ MORE: What to expect as Everton set to publish accounts after Premier League referral

By this point, the ESL, which included Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, had received widespread condemnation from fans and many who work in the game.

But that criticism wasn’t enough for Moshiri. He wanted more and he believed the only punishment to teach each of the sides involved a lesson would be to deduct points.

“Every facet of it is against the very idea of British football,” he said. “Football belongs to the fans and to their communities. This just takes much of their romance of football away.

“Who wants to see Real Madrid and Liverpool every year? You want Liverpool and Everton to play. It’s just a money game, it’s not football any more.

“I think the Premier League should deduct points from these clubs. When clubs get deducted points for minor things – poaching a manager, a player, exceeding Financial Fair Play, these six clubs are attacking the very heart of the Premier League and I think they should be disciplined.

"That’s what I’d do. They should have discussed it with the Premier League. It should have been discussed with all the chairmen.

“It is a system that has worked for many years. The Champions League is an amazing competition – it is the Super League.

“The Premier League needs to discipline clubs. They need to treat powerful clubs as severely as the poorer clubs. Football is about competition. When you see West Brom beating Chelsea, this is football.

“A club like Leeds can go down and come back and beat Liverpool, this is football. To deny this competition devalues the game.”

Everton also released a strongly-worded club statement in condemnation of the Super League. The Blues, and the other 13 top-flight clubs not involved in, were united in their condemnation of the project.

But fast forward nearly two years and it is now Everton who find themselves at the centre of a Premier League probe. Life comes at you fast, as they say.

The Blues have been referred to an independent commission by the Premier League over an alleged breach of profit and sustainability rules. The governing body did not reveal the specifics of the club's alleged breach, other than saying it occurred in the period ending with the 2021/22 season.

Following the announcement, Everton released a statement in which they issued a defiant riposte, insisting they are 'entirely confident' that the club 'remains compliant with all financial rules and regulations.'

In their statement, the Goodison Park club said: "The club strongly contests the allegation of non-compliance and together with its independent team of experts is entirely confident that it remains compliant with all financial rules and regulations.

"The club has, over several years, provided information to the Premier League in an open and transparent manner and has consciously chosen to act with the utmost good faith at all times."

The club’s accounts, have been, it is claimed, been with the Premier League since March 1. While it has also been widely known for some time that Everton have risked falling foul of profit and sustainability rules in recent seasons after posting huge losses.

The overriding feeling from supporters when the news dropped on Friday evening was one of shock. Even Everton officials are believed to have been taken by surprise by the announcement.

Especially when it was only in July that both Burnley and Leeds United dropped the complaint they made to the Premier League back in May about Everton’s spending. It was claimed at the time that the two clubs dropped the complaint after receiving assurances that the Blues complied with the rules.

Which begs the question why now? What has changed since last July? Everton supporters are asking these questions and they have ever right to do so.

The ECHO has reported for some time that Everton have been working closely with the Premier League for a number of years to ensure they comply with the rules, which makes this whole situation even more unprecedented.

What happens next is not yet known, but not for the first time it is supporters who suffer. Everton fans now have concerns about events on and off the pitch.

With their side in a battle to once again avoid relegation to the Championship, Blues supporters are hit with this bombshell announcement. Some will take comfort in the manner in which their club deny the claims, others will be fearful that they could be made an example of.

Unprecedented and unhelpful are just two words that could be used to describe this whole situation. But there are plenty of others Everton supporters may choose to use.

But just when Blues supporters thought the Everton doom loop was about to end following the appointment of Sean Dyche, along comes this latest bombshell.

All football supporters have a simple contract with their club. They support them through thick and thin, for better or for worse.

Everton supporters are no different. But the hits keep coming for Toffees fans right now.

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