Manchester mayor Andy Burnham urges Premier League to scrap Everton points deduction and highlights ‘abuse of process’
MAYOR of Manchester Andy Burnham has written to the Premier League requesting they “null and void” Everton’s points deduction.
The Toffees have been slapped with a ten-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
Labour politician Burnham has taken matters into his own hands by registering a formal complaint about the treatment that Everton have received.
The 53-year-old has claimed that the punishment dished out to Everton is an “abuse of process” due to the timing of the points deduction.
The case against the club was opened up back in March, but the framework used to decide the punishment was only put together on August 10 of this year.
Burnham has suggested that the punishment is therefore unfair as the way teams are punished was changed half way through the investigation into Everton.
In his letter which he addressed to the chair of the Premier League, Alison Brittain, he wrote: “The fact that the Premier League sought to introduce a new sanctions policy amounts, in my view, to an abuse of process.
“I would argue that it should have had one in place before it commenced these proceedings and established this Commission.”
Burnham went on to liken the mid-case introduction to the government handing new sentencing guidelines to a judge in the middle of a particular trial.
The Manchester mayor is an Everton season ticket holder and outlined in his letter that he was writing his complaint as a fan rather than in a professional capacity.
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Burnham took to social media to share his letter with the public and his 590,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter).
He wrote: “I have today written to the Premier League to register a formal complaint about the treatment of Everton.
“In summary, trying to introduce new rules in the middle of an ongoing case amounts to an abuse of process and regulatory malpractice.
“I am not saying Everton do not have a case to answer. They do. What I am saying is the process which led to the ten-point deduction is flawed.
“The ruling should be declared null and void and a new process started following agreement on a sanctions policy with the 20 clubs.”
Everton dropped from 14th place in the table down to 19th following their points deduction and now face an uphill battle to avoid relegation.
And fans have been left fuming with the decision against them, staging a protest before their match with Manchester United on Sunday.
Meanwhile there is yet to be a verdict on the case against Manchester City who were charged with breaching 115 Financial Fair Play rulings back in February.