Burnley, Leeds United, and Leicester City have announced their intention to sue Everton for a total of £300 million after the club was found guilty of breaking financial fair play laws.
Senior figures from the three clubs met this afternoon to reinforce their intention to sue after the Premier League confirmed Everton’s guilty judgement and 10-point sanction, the largest in the competition’s history.
The angry three are said to have agreed to follow through on their prior threats to sue Everton, which they made over the summer after Sean Dyche’s team narrowly avoided relegation by two points on the final day of the season.
Leeds and Leicester were relegated to the Championship, while Burnley have lent their backing because they believe Everton’s expenditure violated financial regulations when they were relegated the previous season.
Burnley, Leeds and Leicester have often voiced dissatisfaction that the Everton matter was not resolved last season and are said to feel much more strongly now that they have been found guilty, as a points deduction in the previous season would have demoted them.
Despite losing 10 points, Dyche’s side is still two points away from safety, with more than two-thirds of the season remaining.
Burnley, Leeds, and Leicester had written a joint letter to the Premier League last month, notifying them of their plans to sue if Everton were found guilty.
The £300 million number is based on a conservative estimate of the £100 million each team estimates they lost by dropping to the Championship.
The prospect of facing combined legal action from three other teams is yet another huge setback for Everton, which might derail the planned takeover by American investment firm 777 Partners.
The penalty shines a spotlight on both Manchester City and Chelsea, and a former City advisor tweeted that the precedent set by Everton’s penalty might lead to relegation for both Premier League heavyweights.
