Back on 9th April 2024, I produced a lengthy explanation of the Premier League Commission hearing, Everton v Premier League, 25-27 March 2024, what became Part one of a two part process. Part two was concluded on 15th January 2025 with a press release appearing on the Premier League website, today, 17th January 2025.

My explanation of part one can be found in full here.

As we are all aware, the Independent Commission imposed a five point penalty, reduced by three points, resulting in a two point penalty on Everton, applied immediately. However because of the decision to bifurcate (separate) the unresolved issues surrounding the treatment of interest payments, there remained the possibility of further punishments at a later date (Part 2).

On the 21st October 2024, Everton provided the Premier League with legal submissions, witness statements from its Chief Financial Officer, James Maryniak, and a non-executive director of its Board, John Spellman, plus an expert report from Jonathan Pryor of Evelyn Partners (“the 21 October Documents”).

On 13 December 2024, Everton filed and served its “Re-Amended Answer” to the Premier League. What input the then, prospective new owners, The Friedkin Group, had on the amended answer is not known.

After consideration of the above, the Premier League wrote to the Independent Commission on 14 January 2025, stating that it had concluded that it would not be appropriate or proportionate to continue to pursue the Additional Allegations that have not already been addressed by the Commission and requesting that the proceedings be discontinued on the terms set out in the Consent Award, (see below) as agreed between the parties.

On 15 January 2025, the Club confirmed its agreement to the PL’s request to discontinue the proceedings on the terms set out here.

The agreed terms are as follows:

Part 2 of the proceedings is hereby discontinued.

Each party shall bear their own costs for Part 2 and shall each pay 50% of the Commission’s costs of Part 2.

The parties shall be at liberty to apply to the Commission for costs in respect of Part 1 of the proceedings, and the Commission reserves to itself the ability to deal with any such application.

Finally, nothing in the Consent Award nor the fact of the discontinuance by the Premier League of Part 2 of the proceedings prejudices the Decision or the decisions of the Commission and the Appeal Board in respect of the Club’s FY22 breach of the Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

Thus ends a highly unsatisfactory sequence of events, not limited to, but including Everton’s financial conduct as documented previously, the behaviour and manner in which the Premier League conducted itself and the total unsuitability of the Independent Commission’s procedures, particularly the strict adherence to proceedings being held in private with no accountability and perhaps most importantly no consideration for all stakeholders, particularly the fans but also the grave risk at all times throughout these protracted affairs as to the footballing integrity and general integrity of the Premier League competition.

There are, of course, other significant disciplinary matters to be dealt with, with regards to Manchester City – quite separate to the dispute concerning Everton, but governed under the same totally inadequate rule book and dispute resolution mechanisms.

A properly constructed and governed independent regulator cannot come into being soon enough, in my opinion.