Kieran Maguire hits out at ‘unfair’ Everton and Nottingham Forest PSR decision

Kieran Maguire has hit out at the “unfair” decision to potentially make Everton and Nottingham Forest wait until the season ends to hear their PSR fate.

Both clubs were referred to an independent commission last month for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules – a second such instance this season in the case of Everton.

Everton and Forest must now await an outcome, which they then have the right to appeal, but a verdict on that is not expected to arrive until a week after the season ends.

That could create a complicated scenario as the 2023-24 campaign nears its conclusion, as outlined by football finance expert Maguire.

“If it goes down to the final four games or so of the season, it’s unfair on Everton and Forest because Sean Dyche doesn’t know what he’s got to do,” he said on The Price of Football podcast [1 February, 08m 37s].

“Does he need six points, three points, 12? It’s also not fair on the other clubs at that part of the table. If Luton are away at Brentford, should they nick a point or go for the win?”

Everton and Nottingham Forest decision date

The independent commissions have around 12 weeks to finalise their separate hearings, so a decision will be reached by the middle of April at the latest.

If it is not a decision Everton and/or Forest agree with, they have the right to appeal within seven days – so potentially into the latter part of April.

And it has been reported that a final verdict would then be expected on May 24, which is five days after a ball has been kicked for the last time.

As Maguire points out – and indeed many others – it could cause carnage if the race for survival comes down to a few points.

It is easy enough to say teams should just play to their best ability and see what happens, but football does not work like that.

Every team has the right to know exactly what they need heading into a match, and unfortunately that may not be the case.

Should Everton be successful with their ongoing appeal against the previous 10-point deduction, at least the picture will be a little clearer.

In other Everton news, the Toffees finalised the exit of a young player on transfer Deadline Day.