Awaiting the Premier League’s Everton ruling, Man City and Chelsea are docked points.
As soon as Everton released a video statement after the Premier League docked them ten points, people started asking: What about Chelsea and Manchester City?
If Premier League competitors were also found guilty of breaking financial regulations, and on a much larger scale at that, what would happen to them? The Merseysiders were docked 10 points for their alleged infraction.
Whatever you choose to call them, financial fair play, profit, and sustainability regulations were introduced into football ostensibly to safeguard clubs. to make sure they didn’t go over budget and to make sure the entry of sovereign governments into the ownership equation didn’t significantly skew the playing field in addition to billionaires.
However, are those guidelines and policies still even credible today? Are they appropriate for their intended use? Were they ever? Or does the entire structure need to be changed to keep up with the current game and the enormous sums of money at stake, especially in the richest league in the world? Heck, maybe we should have our own independent regulator?
The existing structure appears incredibly unjust. Everton was going to get punished since they had broken the rules. However, 10 points seems excessively severe against a team that worked with the Premier League and is currently attempting to construct a new stadium.
Likewise, Chelsea’s new owners raised their voices throughout the accounting process and pointed out issues; undoubtedly, this should also be taken into consideration. Football’s financial constraints are a concern because of innovative bookkeeping, covert payments, and shady business practices.
Salary caps similar to those in Major League Soccer simply do not function. Any squad is skewed by it. These sanctions against Eden don’t help either. How could they be penalized worse than the Big Six who attempted to form their own independent league and join the newly formed European Super League? I suppose there needs to be a tipping point at which we declare that the past is history and that football “what-aboutery” must end.
I do believe that player contracts and transfers should be kept apart from stadium construction, even if it would be extremely difficult to enforce. How are you going to deny the positive impact Manchester City has had on their neighborhood and community?
The same is true for Everton a true neighborhood club. Chelsea… Individuals ought to be mature enough to recognize the wonderful things that Roman Abramovich accomplished for his football team and its followers.
Everton has a great chance to grow and expand in the city. How are they going to get in trouble for that? It has very limited vision. We need to figure out how to keep the football and the club system apart. Football is beneficial to people and cities, and we must never forget that.
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