The fight against the 10 point penalty handed to Everton has been taken to Parliament with a Liverpool MP slamming the punishment as “grossly unjust”.
The Blues were handed the unprecedented penalty on Friday by an independent commission that ruled on a case against the club lodged by the Premier League.
The sanction, for a single breach of the league’s financial rules, has dropped Everton into the relegation zone and caused outrage within the club and among its fan base.
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Ian Byrne, the MP for West Derby, has now thrown his political weight behind Everton by tabling an early day motion in the House of Commons. His move follows an intervention by Steve Rotheram, mayor for the Liverpool City Region, who wrote to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters to convey his concern at the treatment of Everton.
In the motion, tabled by Mr Byrne on Monday evening, he slammed what he said was the commission’s “cavalier” approach to the punitive sanction it handed down and backed calls for an independent football regulator.
His motion, in full, read: “That this House condemns the grossly unjust points deduction imposed on Everton Football Club by a Premier League commission, a punishment lacking any legal or equitable foundation or justification for the level of sanction; notes that financial-not-sporting penalties for far more severe breaches have been applied, including the industry-and-community-threatening European Super League; declares that sporting sanctions unfairly punish supporters; notices the improper dismissal of extraordinary mitigating circumstances outlined by Everton; impresses on the House Everton’s investment in North Liverpool, its 2028 Euro Stadium, and the club’s long-standing, commendable commitment to Liverpool’s vulnerable; gravely remarks that these investments are now under threat; that this House contends the Premier League can no longer fairly govern top-flight football without independent scrutiny and legislation; asserts that the commission’s cavalier approach to points deductions necessitates acceleration of the introduction of the Government’s proposed Independent Regulator; urges the Government to immediately establish an Independent Football Regulator that will safeguard the future of the game, enforce compliance with financial regulation, and establish new guardrails for corporate governance, club ownership, fan engagement, and competition regulation; requests the suspension of all proceedings and sanctions made by the commission until the Regulator makes its own determinations; and demands fan ownership and board representation.”