Parliament tells Premier League: Release minutes of Everton’s 10-point punishment

Richard Masters has been urged to publish the minutes of the board meeting when the Premier League decided to adopt the punishment that led to Everton being given a 10-point penalty and put them at risk of a second points deduction this season.

The Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the parliamentary group who summoned the Premier League chief executive to the House of Commons earlier this month, has also asked Masters to hand over the witness statement he gave to the independent commission who handed down the sentence to Everton.

Dame Caroline Dinenage wrote to Masters saying there was “the perception [of] moving the goalposts” this season and to confirm whether any future sanctions “will be transparent and applied fairly”, as she urged him to give more clarity and information about the process.

Everton were deducted 10 points in November after the commission ruled they had breached Profit and Sustainability Rules for the years from 2018-2022, declaring they had made a loss of £124.5m, £19.5m over the limit of £105m.

Everton and Nottingham Forest have since been referred to independent commissions for the period from 2019-2023, putting both at risk of points deductions and potentially the second in the same season for the Merseyside club.

Dinenage asked Masters to confirm any punishments will be given, and any appeals heard, before the Premier League season finishes on 19 May.

The MP for Gosport also highlighted Masters’ answer to the DCMS committee, when he said an independent panel decided punishments and said it “appeared to contradict” the Premier League commission’s report that there was a structured policy.

She wrote: “There have been concerns about the decision of the Premier League’s board to agree a structured policy for sanctions and recommended it to the Commission.”

Dinenage asked Masters to reply by 8 February.