February 1 – Everton’s appeal against their ten-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules has begun with a final decision expected later in February.
The club are expected to argue that the punishment is disproportionate based both on the level of the breach and previous sanctions handed out for transgressions of other Premier League rules.
Everton have hired one of the UK’s top barristers, Laurence Rabinowitz KC, to lead their legal team at the three-day hearing, which will finish on Friday.
The club admitted the breach but said they were “shocked and disappointed” at the severity of the punishment in November, the biggest sporting sanction in Premier League history.
The Toffees, as the club are known, are facing another possible points deduction after they were charged with breaking the rules for a second time earlier this month.
Everton have been a permanent fixture in the English top flight since the 1954/55 season, meaning that they have not been relegated from the Premier League since it began in 1992 – or before that for 69 years. But they have just dropped into the relegation places and lie in 18th position.
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