Burnley and Leeds United have been invited by the Premier League to send representatives to meet with chief executive Richard Masters this week, following the two relegation contenders’ threat to take legal action over allegations that Everton breached financial regulations.
The Premier League has written to the two clubs, who set out their initial observations on a potential legal case against the league and Everton, in a letter to Masters last week. The two clubs are now expected to come into the Premier League’s west London headquarters at some point this week to discuss their grievances and their demand that an independent commission examine the application of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) as they relate to Everton’s losses.
Either Burnley or Leeds will be relegated today with Everton’s dramatic victory over Crystal Palace on Thursday having secured their top-flight status.
Telegraph Sport has reported that both Burnley and Leeds, who have vowed to back one another whatever the outcome today, have requested that no data relating to Everton’s transfer dealings, and all income, including commercial, be destroyed.
Neither club would comment on whether they would be attending the meeting with Masters. Everton have passed PSR compliance despite losses of £371.8 million over the last three years. Under Premier League rules, clubs are permitted to write-off losses of up to £105m every three years.
Everton’s losses for the most recent financial year ending June 31 last year were £120.9m, and there was no announcement in March, when those were published, that the Premier League believed that materially changed the position in relation to PSR.
Indeed, the Premier League's position has not changed: it has found no evidence that Everton have not complied with PSR.
Although neither party has ever disclosed the details of that analysis, it is understood that taking into account the deductions from the loss for spending permitted under PSR rules, the club meets its obligations. The Premier League received the joint-signatory letter from Leeds and Burnley last week and has made no public comment on the issue. It has indicated since Everton’s most recent financial results that it has no reason to believe that original calculations passing the accounts under PSR rules were erroneous.
The case against Everton is being driven by the ownership of both relegation-threatened clubs, the Leeds chairman and controlling shareholder Andrea Radrizzani and Burnley chairman Alan Pace.
The Premier League declined to comment
