EVERTON are reportedly attempting to avoid being deducted points amid concerns they could fail the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
The Toffees are currently embroiled in a serious relegation battle as Frank Lampard‘s outfit continue to struggle at the wrong end of the Premier League table.
Lampard faces a major battle to keep Everton in the Premier League
Everton owner Farhad Moshiri could see his club deducted points
They are just one point above 18th place Burnley following four league defeats in five games.
But those fears of dropping down to the second tier for the first time in Prem history could deepen if they are found to have breached regulations.
The Mail claims Everton were due to publish their accounts for the 2020-21 season last December.
However, they delayed publication while they clarified with the Prem how much of their losses could be offset by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Merseyside outfit reportedly recorded losses of £260m between 2017 and 2020.
In normal circumstances this would be a huge breach of the Prem’s rules as clubs are only allowed to lose up to £105m over a three-year period.
And it is claimed they are expected to record losses of around £100m in their 2020/21 accounts – with their financial situation growing even more critical following the suspension of their sponsorship from Alisher Usmanov last week.
But spending rules have been altered from a period of three to four years following the coronavirus pandemic.
The two seasons which were majorly impacted by Covid – when crowds were largely not permitted – are put together and an average is taken to provide a figure for the allotted three years.
Yet despite these changes, Everton are still reportedly in breach of the rules.
The deadline set for the submission of up to date accounts is the end of this month – with the Prem also requiring projections until the end of the season.
Any clubs who are deemed to have breached the regulations will then be charged at the end of the campaign.
Fines and docked points are both potential punishments for clubs, although the Prem has never had to enforce such a penalty.
Everton significantly reduced their transfer spending last summer after investing hundreds of millions over a five-year period.
They made four free transfers ahead of the 2021/22 season and also purchased Demarai Gray for the price of just £1.7m.
