David Ornstein responds directly to Everton appeal question with ‘harsh’ verdict
David Ornstein has offered his verdict on the appeal from Everton to reduce their 10-point deduction, admitting he “could see” the punishment being reduced.
The Toffees were deducted 10 points by an independent commission after they were adjudged to have broken the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules and as a result have slipped into 19th place and the relegation zone.
Everton have already decided to appeal the punishment and while the outcome of such an appeal remains to be seen, Ornstein believes that there is a real possibility that the Toffees may see their point deduction reduced before the end of the season.
Writing in his weekly Athletic Q&A (23 November) he said: “My colleague Matt Slater said on Monday’s Athletic Football Podcast he thinks there is a good chance the 10-point penalty is reduced.
“I could see that because 10 points does feel harsh for what Everton have done, but that’s purely a guess.
“I defer to Matt’s superior knowledge.”
Really harsh
When news broke of Everton’s punishment, most of the outrage was surrounding the severity of the punishment, rather than the actual decision to punish the Toffees, with the entirety of the football world in agreement that a 10-point penalty was a bit extreme.
Luckily for Sean Dyche’s side, the Premier League seems to be incredibly weak this season, especially at the bottom end of the table, so even with such a major deduction, the Toffees have every chance of avoiding the drop to the Championship and reaching safety again.
While Ornstein still may be guessing that the punishment could be reduced, Everton supporters should at least take solace in the fact that nobody is expecting this appeal to be immediately thrown to the wayside with no hope of the Blues being successful.
A reduction to even a six or five-point deduction would see a huge impact on the Toffees, as they would quickly move away from the bottom three and could once again begin to look up the table, rather than back over their shoulder.
Supporters will have to wait to see whether Ornstein’s guess is proven to be correct and until then, Dyche needs to ensure that his team keep picking up points to give themselves the best chance of Premier League survival, no matter the outcome.
