There are indications that the long-threatened compensation claim by Burnley FC against Everton is to go ahead in the summer. The hearing is set to take place at the International Dispute Resolution Centre for Arbitration and Mediation in London.
One of the findings from the first Independent Commission orchastrated by the Premier League that initially deducted 10 points from Everton for claimed breaches of Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in the 4 years up to 2021-22 was the green light for other clubs to claim compensation, on the basis that a sporting advantage had been gained unfairly.
In a story at The Lawyer that now seems to have been removed or is no longer accessible, it was claimed earlier today that Everton would employ the services of highly renowned Silk, Laurence Rabinowitz KC, to defend them. A second name later appeared, that of Mark Howard KC, seemingly already coming in as a substitute to replace Rabinowitz.
The same independent commission that imposed the 10-point deduction on Everton initially will also decide on the compensation for any claims for financial damages associated with it by aggrieved clubs. The commission’s chairman, David Phillips KC, had previously stated: “I am satisfied that the applicant clubs have potential claims for compensation” after rejecting a bid by five clubs to be a part of the commission proceedings.
The basis of any claim for damages dates back to season 2021-22, when Burnley finished 17th on 35 points and were relegated from the Premier League 4 points behind The Toffees, who finished 16th.
Burnley claim that Everton’s initial 10-point deduction (subsequently reduced on appeal to a 6-point deduction) should have rightly been applied in that season, and not deferred to the following season. In which case, it would have pushed Everton down into the relation zone on 33 points, thus allowing Burnley to have stayed in the Premier League… with what would have been massive consequences to The Toffees.
The subsequent 2-point deduction also levied in 2022-23 would have seen Everton still stay up on goal difference in a season when Leicester, Leeds and Southampton were all relegated. Those three clubs, as well as Nottingham Forest, dropped their compensation claims upon the reduced penalty.
Quite how much, if any, compensation Burnley would be entitled to remains rooted in legal arguments between the two clubs and could take some time to fathom out given that there has been no precedent in the Premier League, beyond the somewhat different case when Sheffield Utd sued West Ham Utd for using players deemed later to be illegal when third-party ownership issues came to light.