Updated The same independent commission that handed Everton a top-flight record points deduction last week will also decide whether the clubs relegated over the past couple of seasons can claim compensation for lost revenue as a result of the Blues’ overspending.
The panel, made up of David Phillips KC, chartered accountant and former West Ham Finance Director Nick Igoe, and judge Alan Greenwood, recommended to the Premier League that Everton be docked 10 points for breaching Profitabiity and Sustainability rules.
Now, they will be the ones overseeing the case for damages from the likes of Leeds United, whom Phillips counts as a former client, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Burnley who could claim to have either gone down to the Championship or lost revenue as a result of Everton’s actions.
In a ruling in May that could foreshadow the commission’s second decision, Phillips, who sat on a panel that recommended that Everton be fined £300,000 for the pitch invasions following the win over Crystal Palace in May 2022, indicated that he felt clubs would have grounds for compensation.
It would appear, however, that only Burnley and Leicester City, who finished within three points of Everton in 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively, have any legimitate claim; Forest stayed up last season and both Southampton and Leeds would have been relegated regardless.
The clubs in question have 23 days left to lodge their claims. Meanwhile, Everton’s appeal will be held by a separate panel appointed by the Premier League.