The 2023/24 Premier League table has changed radically after it was announced Everton have been handed a ten-point deduction after being found to have breached profit and sustainability rules.
The penalty comes into immediate effect which means the Toffees' place in the Premier League table - and the clubs around them - changes straight away. It is the biggest points deduction that has been handed out in the history of the division.
In a statement responding to the ruling, Everton said they are "shocked and disappointed" by the decision and confirmed appeal proceedings have started.
Here is how the 2023/24 Premier League table has changed following Everton's points deduction.
2023/24 Premier League table after Everton's points deduction
Everton have not enjoyed a brilliant start to the season under Sean Dyche but they have shown enough to suggest they will not be in the thick of the relegation battle, albeit with a lot of games still to play.
At the time of the deduction, Dyche's side were sitting in 14th place. It is a club that wants to be higher and expects as much generally, but they had an eight-point buffer over the first relegation spot which was occupied by Luton Town.
A ten-point penalty after just 12 games of a season could realistically take a 14th-placed team straight down to the bottom, but Everton are saved in that regard by just how poor the three newly promoted teams have been so far.
They will drop down to 19th, level on points with Burnley at the bottom but with a better goal difference.
Those around the Toffees will be pleased that one team has been placed much further beneath them, as every position matters from a financial perspective.
In truth, Everton's run of three wins in their last five games suggests they have what it takes to overhaul the newly-imposed deficit. They look fairly solid under Dyche and there are three teams around them who are seriously struggling already.
By the time the next set of fixtures have been played, Everton could be out of the bottom three again.
What have Everton done wrong?
Everton were referred to an independent commission in March 2023 due to alleged breaches in the 2021/22 season. There was a chance they would be fined or put under a transfer embargo, but the Premier League has decided to dock points.
The Merseyside club are judged to have not been operating in a financially sustainable manner. Clubs are allowed to lose a maximum of £105m over three years, but Everton's losses were recorded as £370m between 2019 and 2021.
A statement from the Premier League read: "An independent Commission has imposed an immediate deduction of 10 points on Everton FC for a breach of the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules (PSRs).
"The Premier League issued a complaint against the club and referred the case to an independent commission earlier this year. During the proceedings, the club admitted it was in breach of the PSRs for the period ending Season 2021/22 but the extent of the breach remained in dispute.
"Following a five-day hearing last month, the commission determined that Everton FC’s PSR calculation for the relevant period resulted in a loss of £124.5m, as contended by the Premier League, which exceeded the threshold of £105m permitted under the PSRs. The commission concluded that a sporting sanction in the form of a 10-point deduction should be imposed. That sanction has immediate effect."
Everton swiftly released their own statement about the ruling.
"Everton Football Club is both shocked and disappointed by the ruling of the Premier League's Commission," the statement began.
"The Club believes that the Commission has imposed a wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction. The Club has already communicated its intention to appeal the decision to the Premier League. The appeal process will now commence and the Club's case will be heard by an Appeal Board appointed pursuant to the Premier League's rules in due course.
"Everton maintains that it has been open and transparent in the information it has provided to the Premier League and that it has always respected the integrity of the process. The Club does not recognise the finding that it failed to act with the utmost good faith and it does not understand this to have been an allegation made by the Premier League during the course of proceedings. Both the harshness and severity of the sanction imposed by the Commission are neither a fair nor a reasonable reflection of the evidence submitted.
"The Club will also monitor with great interest the decisions made in any other cases concerning the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules. Everton cannot comment on this matter any further until the appeal process has concluded."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Premier League table after Everton receive points deduction for profit and sustainability breaches.