Former England defender Gary Neville took aim at what he called the “lawless” Premier League in his podcast over Everton’s 10-point deduction last week that shocked English football.
Everton on Friday became the first Premier League club to be deducted points for breaching profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) when the league docked the Merseyside club the points over their finances in the 2020–21 season.
“Everton’s trust and faith (in the Premier League) have gone completely,” television pundit Neville said on his podcast Stick to Football.
“The greed and selfishness is out of control; it’s lawless. The Premier League is a defunct organisation because they’ve got 20 clubs all voting with self-interest. This has been coming for many years.”
The Premier League did not provide an immediate comment.
Following the prompt deduction, Everton plummeted from the 14th position in the standings to the relegation zone with four points, narrowly above bottom-placed Burnley on goal difference.
This deduction was a consequence of Everton reporting losses totaling nearly £372 million over three years, surpassing the £250 million limit permitted by the league within that timeframe.
In a related matter, reigning champions Manchester City are facing over 100 charges of violating the Premier League’s financial regulations.
“The Super League clubs that tried to destroy the whole of European football – they were fined a total of 22 million pounds, 3.5 million for each team, which is an absolute disgrace and a scandal for what they attempted to do, which was the attempted murder of our game,” said Neville.
The sentiments of the ex-Manchester United player aligned with those of various critics, including Labour MP Ian Byrne, who initiated an ‘early day motion’ in parliament on Tuesday to denounce the deduction. Byrne advocated for the immediate establishment of an independent football regulator.
Addressing the situation, Everton’s director of football, Kevin Thelwell, expressed that the Merseyside club intends to channel the penalty as “additional fuel” for the remainder of the season.