Keith Wyness reveals how Everton will fare with appeal against £35m Burnley punishment
That is according to former Toffees chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that his former club are being harshly punished.
The Merseysiders have been forced to pay the Clarets £35million in compensation, after it was deemed that their breach contributed towards the latter's relegation.
Everton are appealing against the Premier League's final ruling, and Wyness believes that their breach would not have made a sporting impact at the time.
The club overspent their PSR constraints by £19.5m, but Wyness is adamant that it had little effect on their squad that went out on the pitch that season.
Instead, he has pointed out that the breach came as a result of calculations regarding their move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Everton thought they handled breach 'appropriately'
Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that the £19.5m breach was little more than an "accountancy error."
The Scottish businessman made it clear that the overspend came as a result of the interest charged for work on their stadium, rather than an attempt to add to their squad.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, he stressed that Everton thought they had handled the figures "appropriately" at the time.
"If people cast their mind back, and I know it's very hard, but actually that £19.5m was argued as an accounting error about interest paid on their stadium," Wyness said.
"Everton thought they had done this appropriately and accounted appropriately, but the commission found that they didn't. So it wasn't a blatant move to try and buy players, it was about an accountancy situation, about could you account that interest or not?
"That's one thing that people should bear in mind as well. It's leading towards the fact that this appeal is going to be quite hard for Everton so we'll have to see.
"But certainly, to me, lets not lose sight of what that £19.5m was spent on."
What are Everton's chances of a successful appeal?
Wyness told Football Insider last week that Everton have "top lawyers" fighting their corner in Slaughter and May, as they bid to reduce their punishment.
He noted that the Toffees could potentially get around £10m knocked off their compensation payment to Burnley, but feels that the odds are stacked against them at the moment.
Wyness outlined that he currently sees the chances of a successful appeal at "30-70" against Everton, with their prospects not looking positive at the moment.
David Moyes and Co. will have their eyes on a big summer of additions to their squad, but appear destined to find themselves paying much of their money to Burnley instead.