Everton have been ordered to pay Burnley more than £35m in compensation over Premier League profitability and sustainability breaches from the 2021-22 season when the Clarets were relegated.
Everton had 10 points deducted in late 2023 for financial misdemeanours, reduced to six points on appeal a few months later, under Farhad Moshiri's previous regime.
They finished four points above 18th-placed Burnley in 2021/22, but the Lancashire club successfully argued that had the six-point penalty for PSR breaches been applied that season, then they would have survived at Everton's expense.
Everton officials have lodged an immediate appeal over what they view as a "flawed" judgment. Sky Sports News reported the club are astonished and will vigorously contest what they see as a hugely excessive judgment.
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The club said in a statement that they are "clear in the belief the ruling is fundamentally flawed in both law and fact".
"This ruling sets a dangerous and unworkable precedent for English football, given it is constructed on a principle that a club can be in breach of financial rules at any point in a financial year," the statement read.
"Everton believes the panel's ruling misrepresents the clear evidence presented by its legal representatives and that an appeal will be successful."
Everton's compensation order was £26m, plus £9.1m in interest, but there is more interest to be added on, which could bring the total to close to £40m.
Burnley are believed to have sought £51.7m in recompense, but Everton fundamentally disputed the calculation of the extent of the financial loss.
Other clubs had explored the possibility of suing but chose not to go ahead, and there are no further outstanding cases.
Everton were judged to have overspent by £19.5m for the accounting period, but they argue they were unaware they were going to be in breach, and there were six weeks between Burnley being relegated and the end of their financial year when they could have taken steps to prevent the breach.
(c) Sky News 2026: Everton ordered to pay Burnley more than £35m over PSR breaches
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