It seems Burnley and Leeds United are trying, by all means, to ensure that they escape relegation even if it means making efforts off the pitch. They have sent a joint letter to the Premier League to complain that Everton did not comply with the league’s financial fair play rule.
Note that either Burnley or Leeds United will be relegated today, May 22, 2022, while Everton are saved thanks to their 3-2 win over Crystal Palace on May 19, 2022.
Burnley are currently occupying the 17th spot with 35 points in 37 games. They are a step above the relegation zone thanks to a superior goal difference.
Their counterpart, Leeds United, are in the relegation zone (18th spot) with 35 points in 37 games. They are below Burnley due to an inferior goal difference.
This means that if Burnley beat Newcastle United later tonight, Leeds United need to beat Brentford at least 21-0 to overtake Burnley and survive relegation.
To avoid attempting such an impossibility, Leeds United are expected to beat Brentford and then pray that Newcastle United beat Burnley. Once that happens, Leeds would survive while Burnley would join relegated Norwich City and Watford.
One of the easiest ways through which Burnley and Leeds United can be saved no matter the outcome of their respective games which will kick off at 16:00 later today is for the Premier League to sanction Everton for not complying with the league’s financial fair play rule.
How did Everton allegedly break the Premier League financial fair play rule according to Burnley and Leeds United
On May 13, 2022, Burnley and Leeds United wrote to the Premier League asking the body to investigate Everton for recording losses of £371.8m over the last three years which is against the league’s financial fair play rule.
Following up on the letter, on Friday, a day after Everton survived relegation, Burnley and Leeds United wrote another letter to the Premier League urging the league’s body to ensure that Everton did not delete emails and data related to their business transactions in the last three years.
Note that the Premier League financial fair play rule states that no club should lose more than £105 million over three years. If a club breach this rule, the club could be fined or the club’s points could be deducted or both.
This means that if Everton is found guilty, the Premier League board could deduct the points of the Merseyside club that are just four points above the relegation zone. Hence, if that happens, Everton could be relegated and that will save Burnley and Leeds United since the league can only relegate three clubs per season.
The saving grace for Everton is that the Premier League has permitted clubs to write off the losses they recorded during the covid-19 pandemic. Hence, Everton keyed to it by declaring that they recorded £170 million of their losses during the pandemic.
Yet, Burnley and Leeds United want the Premier League to dig more into it within the next six weeks from May 13 and ensure that Everton are appropriately punished before next season’s schedule is released on June 16.
A statement from an Everton spokesman read: “We have worked closely with the Premier League to make sure we are compliant. We are comfortable that we have complied with the rules.
“External auditors have told us what we can and cannot claim against the pandemic. If clubs want to take legal action that’s their decision.”
