Relegation candidates Everton received a record 10-point deduction from the Premier League on Friday, with the league claiming the Toffees had violated their Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
John Aldridge thinks that, unlike Everton, neither Manchester City nor Chelsea will suffer a significant point deduction.
On Friday, the Toffees were immediately docked ten points for violating the Premier League’s financial regulations. The club’s executives declared that they will file an appeal against the penalty, which has placed them in the relegation zone.
The points deduction against Everton has alarmed City supporters. The only other team to face charges from the Premier League for breaking their financial regulations is the European champions. They are accused of breaking over a hundred rules between 2009 and 2018.
The Premier League has not yet disclosed to City what kind of punishment, if any, they intend to apply. Chelsea may also come under investigation regarding alleged payments made to former owner Roman Abramovich, even though the Premier League hasn’t brought any charges against them.
However, Everton’s point deduction was deemed “excessive” by Liverpool legend Aldridge, who believes that neither City nor Chelsea will receive a similar punishment. He thinks the clubs have the financial clout to maintain the Premier League’s silence.
According to Aldridge, “Everton were a sitting duck” (Liverpool Echo). “I’m not sure how to measure it, so I suppose it all depends on what occurs in the future. We’ve all witnessed the events at Man City (115 charges) and Chelsea under Roman Abramovich.
“Was it as a result of the other teams’ subsequent success? Who else is among the top six? Maybe because Everton doesn’t have the funds to fight it.
“City and Chelsea have limitless resources, so they’ve scared away those who have been attempting to carry them out for years, postponing and postponing… Although Everton was not physically capable of doing that, I’m sure they could have done it with the same tools.”
Though he hopes it will be fair, Aldridge believes the Premier League “have taken the easy option by going after Everton.” He went on, “I’m waiting to see if the league, and that club in particular, follow suit now that they’re under pressure to do something.”
“I hope that fairness prevails at the end of the day – if it is good enough for Everton then it is certainly good enough for City and any other club.”
A few City supporters fear they may be ejected from the Premier League. Everton lost 10 points for a single infraction, while City is said to have committed 115. Because neither of these cases has ever happened before, it is hard to say what will happen. The Premier League brought charges against City in February, one month ahead of Everton.
When Todd Boehly’s consortium finished buying the team from Abramovich in May 2022, they reported suspected financial breaches to the authorities, which prompted the Premier League to launch an investigation into Chelsea.
According to a joint investigation by The Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Chelsea may have broken financial regulations with a number of other covert payments. It was only earlier this month that these accusations were made.