Football finance specialist Kieran Maguire sympathizes with Everton fans after he commented on a Telegraph article on Chelsea’s usage of loopholes.
Maguire expressed his dissatisfaction with Chelsea’s ability to dodge financial fair play sanctions, as reported by Telegraph football journalist Sam Wallace in his article headed ‘Clubs agreed to financial regulations but they must stop finding loopholes’.
So far this season, Everton has received six (down from ten) and two point deductions, while Forest has had four points deducted, leaving both in a perilous survival battle and now occupying the two slots just above the relegation zone.
In his X post, Maguire was candid, saying: “If I was an Everton or Forest fan, I would be fairly hacked off” at the current situation, which Wallace describes as a “loophole culture pervading Premier League financial controls.”
Everton faces Chelsea, with both sides under FFP investigation.
Everton will visit Stamford Bridge on a blue Monday on April 15, with neither club anywhere near where they want to be in the Premier League league this season.
If Everton’s two deductions earlier this season had not occurred, they would currently be 14th and only nine points behind Chelsea, and, more importantly, they would be well clear of a relegation battle they have been in since August.
Maguire’s sympathy for the Toffees’ current position is not surprising given that Chelsea were able to sell two hotels on their Stamford Bridge stadium site to alleviate FFP restrictions, bringing in a figure that “raised more than Kai Havertz’s transfer to Arsenal.”
Everton does not have such a luxury, and if their financial condition worsens, they will most certainly be obliged to sell their finest players, which will have a direct influence on their Premier League status.
With no end in sight to their financial or ownership difficulties, Monday night’s encounter will provide Everton fans with a look into a club with far more financial power than they presently have, and one that appears to be on the opposite end of the Premier League’s FFP scale.
