Kieran Maguire: Prosecutors have clear precedent in £200m Everton FFP lawsuit
Prosecutors would have a clear precedent to follow if a £200million lawsuit against Everton is brought to trial.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the credibility of Burnley and Leeds United’s case.
Everton have posted financial losses of £372m over the last three years, well beyond the £105m permitted under the Premier League’s FFP rules.
The Merseysiders argue that £170m of that figure can be written off through Covid allowances, but Leeds and recently-relegated Burnley have contested this claim.
As relayed by iNews on Monday (23 May) the two clubs are seeking £200m in compensation to offset the advantage Everton have accrued through alleged overspending.
It is understood that representatives from Burnley and Leds have formally requested that the Premier League order Everton not to delete any relevant information.
Maguire listed two examples of similar legal disputes that do not bode well for the Toffees.
“There are some precedents which need to be considered,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“There was the Carlos Tevez case in 2005. West Ham agreed an out-of-court settlement with Sheffield United. That was nothing to do with FFP because it didn’t exist then.
“But we have recently had a settlement between the owners of Derby County and Middlesbrough with regards to FFP breaches.
“You can understand why Burnley and Leeds are doing this. My understanding is that they have decided to pursue this regardless of who got relegated.”
Everton secured their top-flight status on game week 37 of the Premier League season.
Leeds’ 2-1 victory over Brentford on the final day last Sunday (22 May) confined the Clarets to relegation.
In other news, pundit suggests multiple Everton exits on the cards after James Tarkowski update.