The Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMSC) has written to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters just weeks after he addressed a select parliamentary board regarding charges handed out to Nottingham Forest and Everton for breaches of profit and sustainability rules (PSRs). The latest comments come in the same week that UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin also spoke out regarding previous allegations and treatment of Manchester City from the European governing body.
As world football continues to go down a rabbit hole of monetary uncertainty, Masters openly referred to the existence of ‘small clubs’ and has been picked up for his wording as well as the current structure in place to make these historic calls. Penned by CMS chair Dame Caroline Dineneage, the letter reads, “Dear Richard, Thank you for appearing before the Committee on 16th January 2024. I am writing to follow up on points raised during the session.
“Firstly, when discussing the charges laid against Everton FC and Nottingham Forest FC for breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules, you said the rules “are for everybody. They are not just for small clubs.” 1 I would be grateful if you could clarify what criteria the Premier League uses to classify ‘small clubs’ and which clubs it regards as small.”
The letter continues to question the decision-making process in which an independent commission concluded that Everton should be handed a 10-point penalty for breaching rules regarding an allowed loss of £105million over a rolling three-year period. “We have an open sanctioning regime,” Masters said at Westminster earlier this month.
“It is an active decision to leave it to the independent panel to decide because it gives it maximum flexibility to decide in the circumstances, having listened to all the mitigating arguments made by the club and by the Premier League to make its own decision. While that may not be clear, we believe it is fair.”
However, the letter states that there are contradictions in the commission’s report regarding the Toffees on November 17, 2023, “which states that the Premier League adopted a structured “sanctions policy” at its Board meeting on 10 August 2023, and subsequently presented that sanctions policy to the Commission as part of your witness statement.”
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The letter continues to quote from the commission’s report, reading, “The guidelines advocated by the Premier League are similar to, but different from, those of the EFL. As with the EFL guidelines they start with a presumption that the appropriate penalty will be a sporting sanction in the form of a deduction of points.
“They adopt a fixed starting point of a deduction of 6 points. There would be an increase from that starting point of one point for every £5 million by which the club had exceeded the PSR threshold of £105 million. Further adjustments could be made to reflect aggravating or mitigating features. The rationale for these guidelines is given in the evidence of Mr Masters’ “
Dinenage adds: “While both Everton and the Premier League were entitled to make submissions on the sanctions in this case as part of the Commission’s process, there have been concerns about the decision of the Premier League’s board to agree a structured policy for sanctions and recommended it to the Commission
“The Commission declined to adopt the formula proposed by the Premier League, noting concern that the adoption of a structured formula could compromise the basis on which it was created: to approach the question of sanction in whatever way it considered to be appropriate to the individual case before it.
“Nevertheless the decision to propose what the Commission described as a policy, rather than simply a sanction, has created the perception of moving the goalposts, particularly in light of the Commission going on to adopt a similar penalty as that which would have been made under the Premier League’s proposed policy.”
CMSC also asked for a full version of the witness statement Masters provided to the commission as well as minutes of the league board meeting on August 10, 2023, when, “it agreed the formula presented to the Independent Commission.”
The letter finishes: “I would also be grateful if you could clarify whether the Premier League will propose the same formula in other cases outside of Everton’s, and how you intend to ensure that any further sanctions applied – particularly following possible changes to rules this year- will be transparent and applied fairly.
“Finally, can you assure the Committee that the latest charges against Everton and Nottingham Forest of breaking the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules –taking possible appeals into account – will be resolved before the final round of Premier League fixtures on 19 May 2024? I would be grateful for a response to the Committee’s questions by 8 February.”
Separately, Dinenage states, “Richard Masters’ implication that nine-times league title winners Everton and double European Cup winners Nottingham Forest are ‘small clubs’ will have raised eyebrows with fans. To suggest clubs are categorised according to size raises wider questions about whether every member of the league truly does receive treatment that is fair and consistent.
“Equally puzzling was his insistence that the charges and punishment regime is entirely independent of the Premier League, when there is documentary evidence of an attempt to move the goalposts with a proposal for a structured policy for sanctions. If Mr Masters was a referee, the VAR control room may well now be having a word in his ear to look again at his evidence to the committee.
“Overall, given what we heard last week from both the Premier League and EFL, it now seems more important than ever that the Government gets on with establishing the independent football regulator that can step in to safeguard the health of the game beyond the monied world of the top flight.”
As Everton and Forest both fight their charges – the Toffees also appealing their first punishment – the prospect of even greater calls to come remain. Manchester City have 115 charges looming over their heads for historic financial misdeeds over a 10-year period and due to the unprecedented nature of things their punishment could be as anything from big fines, hefty points deductions, titles being stripped, and even relegation.
For the sides that have been competing alongside them during the past 15 years, it is an almighty cloud to have sitting perilously above the league currently. Although the letter doesn’t directly refer to City and their own unique case it further muddies the water with the expectation of even more legal battles to come.
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Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
