The claim is that teams like PSG have been able to avoid the tough Financial Fair Play regulations because Saudi clubs paid far more than was anticipated to acquire specific players. There is a debate going on at U.
Everton is being looked into for FFP violations. The hearing is scheduled on October 25. If they are found guilty, they could face a number of penalties, including suspension from the league, points loss, a directive to have games replayed, expulsion from the league, payment of compensation, to name a few.
However, if it is established that FFP regulations were broken, teams that were significantly harmed by the guilty club’s acts may also seek compensation.
The amount a team makes from TV rights depends on where in the league it finishes, but the variances are not very large. The big player in this case is the claim that a club escaped relegation by breaking FFP rules since that is where they are significant in terms of relegation.
However, the issue arises because cases are decided a long time after the incident, leaving the league with little other option except to sanction the offending team. However, clubs impacted by the guilty club’s position could then file a lawsuit.
For instance, Everton is charged with violations in 2021/22. It might be argued that if the FFP violations hadn’t occurred, they would have finished that season in 18th place instead of 16th, sparing Burnley from relegation. When the case is heard the following month, Burnley may then file a lawsuit for a loss of 2022–23 Premier League profits.
However, there’s more. The following season, Everton competed in the Premier League and narrowly escaped relegation. Leicester City, Leeds United, and Southampton might make the case that Everton shouldn’t have been in the league; nonetheless, their position is untrue.
Even though the alleged breaches occurred in the 2021–22 season, Everton was not even submitted to an independent commission about the charges until March of this year. Before the end of the previous season, a number of clubs urged that the case be heard, but nothing occurred.
The fact that Everton publicly reported losses of £371.8 million over a three-year period while the rules only allowed losses of £105 million irritates the impacted teams.
Amazingly, the Premier League then informed Leeds and Burnley that there was a case against Everton but didn’t proceed with the hearing despite the relegation-threatened clubs’ demands that they should. This certainly needs to be looked into by an independent commissioner.
Relegation to the Championship is believed to cost clubs at least £100 million each season. Therefore, Southampton, Burnley, Watford, Norwich, Leicester, Leeds, and Watford may all have a claim. If they triumphed, the Premier League might become bankrupt unless all the other teams consented to save it.
Over this, the calculations can become a little challenging. It might have seemed evident last season that Leicester, who finished the previous season just two points behind Burnley and Everton, should receive compensation. However, Leeds might argue that Everton’s cheating caused them to only earn one point instead of six in their games against them; had they earned all six, they would have been in a stronger position to survive, as The Guardian noted in an article.
In light of this, they claim that “The clubs also feel that they could have recourse to seek damages from the league itself — on the grounds of a mismanagement of the situation.”
