A Premier League commission has ordered Everton to pay Burnley more than £35 million in compensation following a successful lawsuit over profit and sustainability rule violations from the 2021/22 campaign.
The Lancashire club, who dropped out of the top flight that season, argued that Everton's financial breaches directly affected their survival chances.
Burnley have been awarded £26 million in damages alongside an additional £9 million in interest payments.
The ruling stems from PSR violations committed by Everton over a three-year period, with the Clarets contending that the breaches impacted their ability to remain in the Premier League.
Everton have been ordered to pay Burnley £35million in damages and interest
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Everton received a 10-point deduction in late 2023 for their financial misdemeanours, though this sanction was subsequently reduced to six points following an appeal several months later. These penalties related to the era under former owner Farhad Moshiri.
The crux of Burnley's case rested on the final league standings from that fateful 2021-22 season, when Everton finished just four points above the Clarets in 18th position.
Burnley's legal team successfully persuaded the commission that had the six-point penalty been enforced during that campaign, their positions would have been reversed, with Everton dropping into the relegation zone instead.
Everton officials have lodged an immediate appeal against the ruling, with the club expressing both surprise and anger at the commission's decision.
In a statement, the club declared: "Everton Football Club is surprised and angered by the decision of a Premier League Independent Disciplinary Commission to order a compensation payment to Burnley Football Club in relation to Everton's PSR breach in June 2022."
Everton have lodged an immediate appeal over the decision
| PAThe Toffees insisted they would "robustly and thoroughly" contest the judgement, stating they are "clear in the belief the ruling is fundamentally flawed in both law and fact."
Sources indicate the club's hierarchy were "astonished" by the outcome.
The club's statement warned that the ruling "sets a dangerous and unworkable precedent for English football, given it is constructed on a principle that a club can be in breach of financial rules at any point in a financial year."
Everton firmly rejected the panel's conclusions, stating they "do not recognise the findings" that Burnley's relegation was caused by any sporting advantage gained through the PSR breach, particularly given a "substantive sporting sanction has already been received."
The club expressed confidence that their appeal would prove successful, arguing that the panel's ruling "misrepresents the clear evidence presented by its legal representatives."