Liverpool MP calls Everton sanction ‘unjust’ and motions for immediate establishment of regulator

November 21 – Everton’s 10-point deduction by the Premier League has reached the UK Parliament after being described as “grossly unfair”.

Member of Parliament lan Byrne, a labour MP from West Derby in Liverpool, has tabled a motion condemning the penalty and called for an independent football regulator to be established immediately. In February, the government announced plans to appoint a regulator, following a fan-led review last year.

Everton received the stunning sanction last Friday after being found to have breached the Premier League’s financial rules.

English top-flight clubs are permitted to lose £105 million over three years, and an independent commission found Everton’s losses to 2021-22 amounted to £124.5 million.

The punishment is the biggest sporting sanction in the competition’s history over financial matters and leaves Everton 19th in the table, two points adrift of safety.

The Toffees are set to appeal and in his motion Byrne requested the “suspension of all proceedings and sanctions made by the Commission until the regulator makes its own determination”.

He added: “This House condemns the grossly unjust points deduction imposed on Everton Football Club by a Premier League commission.

“A punishment lacking any legal or equitable foundation or justification for the level of sanction and notes that financial, not sporting penalties, for far more severe breaches have been applied.”

Earlier on Monday, mayor of Liverpool Steve Rotheram wrote to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters regarding the “wholly disproportionate” and “unprecedented” points deduction.

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