The points deductions for Everton and Nottingham Forest have shown that the Premier League is serious about enforcing its financial regulations; expect this summer to be full of headlines about clubs needing to sell players and approach the market with a bit more caution
Friday 10 May 2024 17:41, UK
Everyone now knows exactly where they stand. The league table will not lie on the final day of the season. Everton's decision to withdraw their PSR appeal means there will be clarity and certainty on Sunday May 19.
There had been fears that if any PSR appeals dragged on until the May 25 backstop in the Premier League rulebook, some clubs may not have known whether they had stayed up or gone down after this season's final set of fixtures.
This week's news that Nottingham Forest had lost their appeal against a four-point punishment followed by Everton's change of heart about appealing means everyone will be talking about football and not PSR on the final day of the season.
Everton's decision to withdraw their appeal did not come out of the blue, because they are in a much better position in the table now than they were when they confirmed they were appealing on Monday April 15.
That evening's 6-0 defeat away at Chelsea left them only two points above the relegation zone, but 10 points from four games have lifted them to 15th in the table and they guaranteed their safety two weeks ago with a 1-0 win over Brentford.
Everton's decision to throw in the towel comes just three days after Nottingham Forest lost their appeal against a four-point PSR penalty. In its written reasons, the three-person appeal board made it clear that clubs should only appeal if they had grounds which were material to the original decision.
Another consideration for Everton may have been the fact that every place in the Premier League is worth about £3m in prize money. Crystal Palace are one place and six points above them, so even if they had succeeded in getting two points back, Palace would have been very difficult to catch with just two games left to play.
Ultimately, Everton are safe and they have more important things to worry about than another PSR appeal. A costly and likely-to-fail appeal is an unwanted distraction when the future of the club is at stake with so much uncertainty surrounding the long-running and seemingly-doomed 777 Partners takeover saga.
Although PSR will not affect the final day of the season, it is going to be a live issue for Premier League clubs until it is phased out and replaced by new financial rules next summer. The end of the current three-season PSR cycle is approaching and clubs have to make sure they have not lost more than £105 million during that period when it ends on June 30. (The limit is lower for clubs who have not been in the Premier League for all three seasons.)
Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell said on Friday they would need to sell players this summer and other clubs are in a similar position. The points deductions for Everton and Forest have shown that the Premier League is serious about enforcing its financial regulations.
Expect this summer to be full of headlines about clubs needing to sell players and clubs needing to be more careful with their money when it comes to signing players.
In the meantime, the lawyers will still be busy. There is the PSR case involving Leicester City, and the 115 charges Manchester City have denied include some alleged PSR breaches. There is also an outstanding issue to be resolved involving interest costs associated with the building of Everton's new stadium.
While there is some sympathy for Everton and Forest's PSR problems this season, the consensus among other clubs is that there is no point having rules if they are not going to be enforced.
