Parliament tells Premier League: Release minutes of Everton’s 10-point punishment
The Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, has asked Premier League chief executive Richard Masters for more detail over how Everton’s punishment was reached
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Richard Masters has been urged to publish the minutes of the board meeting when the Premier League decided to adopt the punishment that led to Everton being given a 10-point penalty and put them at risk of a second points deduction this season.
The Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the parliamentary group who summoned the Premier League chief executive to the House of Commons earlier this month, has also asked Masters to hand over the witness statement he gave to the independent commission who handed down the sentence to Everton.
Dame Caroline Dinenage wrote to Masters saying there was “the perception [of] moving the goalposts” this season and to confirm whether any future sanctions “will be transparent and applied fairly”, as she urged him to give more clarity and information about the process.
Everton were deducted 10 points in November after the commission ruled they had breached Profit and Sustainability Rules for the years from 2018-2022, declaring they had made a loss of £124.5m, £19.5m over the limit of £105m.
Everton and Nottingham Forest have since been referred to independent commissions for the period from 2019-2023, putting both at risk of points deductions and potentially the second in the same season for the Merseyside club.
Dinenage asked Masters to confirm any punishments will be given, and any appeals heard, before the Premier League season finishes on 19 May.
The MP for Gosport also highlighted Masters’ answer to the DCMS committee, when he said an independent panel decided punishments and said it “appeared to contradict” the Premier League commission’s report that there was a structured policy.
She wrote: “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.”
Dinenage asked Masters to reply by 8 February.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments