Everton have been told they must pay Burnley £35m in compensation – the largest financial penalty ever imposed on a Premier League club – after a commission found their breach of profit and sustainability rules caused the Clarets' relegation in 2022.
The case, heard by a Premier League independent disciplinary commission comprising the same three-man panel that deducted Everton 10 points over the same £19.5m overspend in November 2023, centred on the 2021-22 season. Everton finished 16th on 39 points, while Burnley were relegated in 18th with 35 points – four points adrift.
“Everton ordered to pay Burnley £35m after commission found PSR breach caused relegation.”
Burnley argued that had Everton been deducted points during that season rather than months later, they would have stayed up. The commission found Burnley's evidence – which projected a gain of between 3.85 and 7.13 points for Everton – "more compelling" and concluded that "on the balance of probabilities, Everton's breach of the PSR caused Burnley to be relegated".
The Clarets were awarded £26m in damages and a further £9m in interest. Leeds United are reported to have agreed a settlement with Everton in September 2025, while Leicester City, Nottingham Forest and Southampton also considered legal action. West Ham previously paid Sheffield United compensation in a similar case.
Everton have appealed, with sources saying they will "robustly and thoroughly" contest the ruling. In a statement, the club said they were "surprised and angered" by a decision they believe "is fundamentally flawed in both law and fact". The statement added: "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 club – owned by Farhad Moshiri at the time of the breach before being taken over by The Friedkin Group in December 2024 for £25m – said any compensation payment would not impact their current PSR accounts. TFG insists the ruling does not affect summer transfer plans or the club's robust financial position.