Everton fans should be fuming about Chelsea punishment after historic documents revealed
Everton fans have every right to be frustrated about Chelsea’s punishment following their previous profit and sustainability (PSR) saga.
The Merseyside giants were deducted eight points in total after being charged with two separate PSR breaches in the 2022-23 season.
Chelsea have now been handed a £10million fine and a suspended transfer ban after admitting to making £47m worth of secret payments to agents and third-parties linked to deals between 2011 and 2018 when Roman Abramovich was in charge.
The Blues also landed an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban and a further £750,000 fine due to offences committed between 2019 and 2022.
However, Chelsea avoided a sporting sanction, raising questions around whether Everton’s points deduction was too harsh.
How did Chelsea avoid points deduction?
The secret payments were made around the transfers of Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto'o, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, Andre Schurrle and Nemanja Matic.
The transactions were discovered during BlueCo’s takeover from Abramovich in 2022, leading to Chelsea self-reporting themselves to the Premier League, Uefa and the FA.
The current ownership's openness around the situation appears to be a key factor behind the Blues avoiding a sporting penalty, such as a points deduction.
However, finance expert Kieran Maguire has revealed documents from Everton’s points deduction case that he believes won’t please Toffees fans.
Maguire highlighted quotes from the Premier League, where it said "A financial penalty for a club that enjoys the support of a wealthy owner is not a sufficient penalty” and that “the requirements of deterrence, vindication of compliant clubs, and the protection of the integrity of the sport demand a sporting sanction in the form of a points deduction”.
He went on to note the Chelsea fine is, therefore, neither a “punishment, deterrent or protecting the integrity of the sport” given the financial power of the Blues' American owners.
How PSR breaches impacted Everton
Everton have been restricted in their spending since they were handed the points deductions three years ago.
The Toffees’ historic losses under former owner Farhad Moshiri have made complying with the PSR rules challenging, with top-flight clubs permitted to lose £105m over a rolling three-year period.
David Moyes’s side are now moving in the right direction following their previous struggles, having been taken over by The Friedkin Group in December 2024.
However, Everton fans are still frustrated about the way the Premier League handled their PSR breaches, which almost led to the club suffering relegation from the top flight.
That ill-feeling from the Toffees' faithful towards the league has no doubt deepened after seeing Chelsea escape a points deduction, and they have every right to feel aggrieved.