Pity the poor Everton fans. Just as their once mighty club, now a perennial relegation battler, seemed to have a climbed a few ladders in recent weeks to low mid-table, they land on a snake. Yesterday the Premier League handed them a ten point penalty for financial irregularities, plunging them back down into the danger zone of relegation.

Everton admitted the offences and pleaded mitigation: unexpectedly high interest payments on their new stadium project, the loss of a Russian sponsor due to UK government sanctions in the wake of the war in Ukraine and losses (estimated at £10 million) incurred as a result of criminal charges brought against a ‘player X’. They also stressed that they had cooperated fully with the investigation (unlike some others). But to no avail.

The Premier League has been spooked by the looming threat of government oversight

‘Excessive and unfair’ was the snap judgement to this from much of the football community (including arch rival Liverpool’s former player Jamie Carragher). The key bone of contention was how on earth Everton could be landed with such a whopping penalty when Manchester City is accused of over 100 similar offences? Chelsea have also been linked with a series of payments that may have broken financial fair play rules.

But for both clubs, any sanction could be months or even years away. Could this be a case of two-tier policing of financial propriety by the Premier League and FA, with the favoured super rich elite getting off lightly or even scot-free, while the rest get hammered?

That would be an understandable emotional reaction from football fans, but there are a number of problems with it. Firstly, just because justice hasn’t been meted out to Manchester City and Chelsea (should they be found guilty) doesn’t mean it won’t be.

Manchester City have denied all charges and recruited an elite team of lawyers headed by Lord Pannick KC (who also represented them in their successful appeal against UEFA back in 2020). They are skilled in delay and obfuscation – so the process will take time, whatever the FA and Premier League do. Meanwhile, the breaches alleged to have been committed by Chelsea have only recently come to light.

Everton have been found guilty. They have spent like the proverbial inebriated mariner, gambling recklessly on transfers and playing fast and loose with its financial PSR (profit and sustainability) calculations and submissions. In August 2021, the club signed an agreement to get their house in order; they also could have been docked points last season – and gone down. So the idea that they have been mistreated by the football authorities’ investigators shouldn’t be swallowed whole.

And as a conspiracy theory, the idea that Manchester City have the Premier League and FA in their pocket needs a bit of work. If that were true and the authorities were looking for a way out of pursuing their cases, or intent on the most lenient of penalties, wouldn’t it make more sense to go easy on Everton also? As it is, if Man City and Chelsea do get off with a slap on the wrist, or less, it will reveal the most glaring imbalance, and the Premier League’s credibility for self-regulation will be seriously undermined.

What matters as a more plausible ‘alternative’ explanation – at least for the severity of Everton’s punishment – is that the Premier League has been spooked by the looming threat of government oversight and potential intervention in its clubs’ affairs, as proposed in the King’s Speech. The Independent Regulator for Football (IREF) will be empowered to step in and address issues of financial irregularities and abuses in order to safeguard the more vulnerable clubs who don’t have access to virtually unlimited resources.

Such a threat will have sent shivers down Premier League mandarin’s spines. Their league is basically a private members club and cooperates with the rest of the English football establishment through choice not obligation. It is ruthlessly profit driven (Brian Glanville called it the ‘greed is good’ league for a reason) with seemingly few qualms whatsoever about who owns the member clubs. It can essentially make up its own rules: there is little to stop the Premier League cancelling relegation for instance, something many suspect they might do if one of their most lucrative members ever flirted with it. The football pyramid is a mirage.

The only domestic threat to this cosy arrangement comes from government, and the planned regulatory body seemed to pose one. Therefore, it makes sense to send a strong message that the Premier League is serious about financial regulation and capable of looking after its own affairs. Everton’s unexpectedly harsh penalty is effectively a signal to government: back off, we’ve got this.

The Merseyside club may have chosen the worst possible moment to confess their sins. And their nightmare may only be starting. Several clubs that lost out in Everton’s recent series of relegation escapes to face the drop themselves could potentially sue them for millions in lost revenue. Leicester, Leads and Burnley are believed to be considering this option.

After an unbroken run of almost 70 years in the top flight, the drop for Everton might be more than just a huge disappointment. It could be a catastrophe.

Pity the poor Everton fans.