Everton, Nottingham Forest face Premier League punishments

The Premier League has strict rules regarding financial gains and losses for each of its 20 members. Teams are forbidden from losing more than $133M for three consecutive seasons. This means that major expenses, like stadium upgrades and star player purchases, must be offset by reasonable gains to keep clubs under that three-year threshold. In theory, the rules keep Premier League clubs financially sustainable and prevent richer teams from dominating the competition.

In practice, however, the rules leave plenty to be desired. The Premier League has no set punishment for financial breaches, which means different teams can receive different sanctions for the same offense. It also forces teams to submit calculations midseason, which leaves them vulnerable to uncertain punishments that could have massive effects on their final finishing place. 

The league also has no procedure for handling multiple breaches within the same period, leaving clubs like Everton — a team that was already punished for rule-breaking within this era — open to seemingly endless future sanctions as it rebuilds.

"The club [Everton] must now defend another Premier League complaint which includes the very same financial periods for which it has already been sanctioned before that appeal has even been heard," Everton said in a statement. "The club takes the view that this results from a clear deficiency in the Premier League's rules."

Everton received a 10-point deduction for previous financial breaches in November. The club has appealed this punishment but has competed without those points ever since. It's currently in 17th in the league, one point outside of the relegation zone, but would jump up to 12th if its deduction is reversed. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, is 15th.

With no set punishments in place for these breaches, Everton and Nottingham Forest must wait to see if they will be subject to fines, points deductions or both in the latter half of the 2023-24 season.

Manchester City, the United Arab Emirates-backed club that won the Premier League and Champions League last season, is still being investigated for over 100 counts of slightly more complicated financial breaches. 

Premier League cynics believe City's draw-out process, when held up to Everton's quick double penalty, shows financial rules are being upheld for smaller clubs but bent for bigger, more successful ones. With no consistency or transparency in place, the Premier League will find it hard to refute those accusations.