Everton drop into relegation zone with 10-point deduction for breaking rules

Published

1 year ago

November 17, 2023

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Everton have been deducted 10 points for breaches of profit and sustainability rules, the Premier League has said.

The penalty, effective immediately, leaves the club with four points and plunges them into the relegation zone.

The Merseyside club said it was “shocked and disappointed” by the “wholly disproportionate” ruling and plans to appeal.

It comes after the league referred Everton in March to an independent commission after reviewing the financial records of all top-flight clubs for the 2021-22 season.

According to the rules, clubs can sustain losses of up to £105m in three years or potentially face penalties.

However, Everton FC reported losses of £124.5m for the relevant period.

Everton FC said in a statement after the points deduction: “The club believes that the commission has imposed a wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction.

“The club has already communicated its intention to appeal the decision to the Premier League. The appeal process will now commence and the club’s case will be heard by an Appeal Board appointed pursuant to the Premier League’s rules in due course.

“Everton maintains that it has been open and transparent in the information it has provided to the Premier League and that it has always respected the integrity of the process.

“The club does not recognise the finding that it failed to act with the utmost good faith and it does not understand this to have been an allegation made by the Premier League during the course of proceedings.”

What rules were broken – and what about other clubs?

The Premier League’s financial rules are designed to ensure clubs “operate within their financial means”.

They were introduced following concerns that teams were spending far more on players than they were earning in ticket sales, merchandise and other income – sparking fears some could build up unsustainable levels of debt and go bust.

The rules include a requirement that teams must not lose more than £105m over a three-year period.

However, during the 2021/22 season, investigators ruled that Everton lost £124.5m – although the club claims there were mitigating factors.

Three clubs have previously been docked points in the league. Middlesbrough were deducted three for failing to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn in 1996/97, and Portsmouth were stripped of nine after going into administration in March 2010.

Tottenham were handed a 12-point deduction before the 1994/95 season for financial irregularities, but the punishment was later revoked.

The only other current team to have been charged with breaking the rules is Manchester City, which was accused of 115 breaches in February. However the case is still ongoing amid reported wrangling between legal teams behind closed doors. It is unclear when it will be resolved.

In August, the Premier League also announced it had launched an investigation into Chelsea over their finances. However, the club has not been charged with breaking any rules and that case is also ongoing.

Everton said both the “harshness and severity of the sanction imposed by the commission are neither a fair nor a reasonable reflection of the evidence submitted”.

The club added that it would also “monitor with great interest the decisions made in any other cases concerning the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules”.

Everton said they could not comment any further until the appeal process was over.

Steve Rotheram, the mayor of Liverpool City Region, said the points deduction was an “excessive and grossly unfair punishment”.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “I’ll be supporting the club in their appeal and writing to the Premier League to ask them to rescind it.

“This is about fairness, not partisan rivalry.”

The Premier League said in a statement: “During the proceedings, the club admitted it was in breach of the PSRs for the period ending Season 2021/22 but the extent of the breach remained in dispute.

“Following a five-day hearing last month, the Commission determined that Everton FC’s PSR Calculation for the relevant period resulted in a loss of £124.5million, as contended by the Premier League, which exceeded the threshold of £105million permitted under the PSRs.

“The Commission concluded that a sporting sanction in the form of a 10-point deduction should be imposed. That sanction has immediate effect.”

UK

Harshita Brella: International manhunt under way for husband after woman’s body found in car boot

Published

53 mins ago

November 17, 2024

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Harshita Brella: International manhunt under way for husband after woman's body found in car boot

An international manhunt is under way for the husband of a murdered woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car.

The body of Harshita Brella was found in east London on Thursday, tens of miles away from her home in Corby.

On Sunday, Northamptonshire Police said they were looking for Pankaj Lamba – who they believe has left the country.

Sky News understands she had been under the protection of a court order designed for victims of domestic abuse.

“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said chief inspector Paul Cash.

“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.”

“Fast track” enquires were made after the force was contacted on Wednesday by someone concerned about Ms Brella’s welfare. After she failed to answer the door at her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, a missing person investigation was launched.

Her body was found inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road, Ilford, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

A post mortem – conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday – established she had been murdered.

More than 60 detectives are working on the case, with lines of enquiry including going house to house and property searches, as well as looking at CCTV and ANPR.

“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” said chief inspector Cash.

“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”

Force referred to police watchdog

On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact between the force and the victim.

Northamptonshire Police previously said officers had been conducting investigations at three locations: Skegness Walk and Sturton Walk in Corby and Brisbane Road, Ilford, where Ms Brella’s body was found.

East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) and Northamptonshire Police said they were working “around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place”.

UK

King Richard III given Yorkshire accent using state-of-the-art technology

Published

53 mins ago

November 17, 2024

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King Richard III given Yorkshire accent using state-of-the-art technology

State-of-the-art technology has been used to create a voice for King Richard III – giving him a Yorkshire accent.

A digital avatar of the medieval king’s head went on display in front of excited history fans at York Theatre Royal.

Richard III was king of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32.

His remains were found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 by historian Philippa Langley.

Speaking about the recreation, she said: “We’ve got leading experts in their fields who have been working on this for 10 years and so everything has been meticulously researched, meticulously evidenced, so you are seeing the most accurate portrayal of Richard III”.

A team based at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created the avatar based on the reconstruction of Richard III’s head with the help of a craniofacial expert.

Experts from various fields helped put the pieces of the puzzle together, including speech and language therapy, dentistry, forensic psychology and archaeology.

His voice has been created by Professor David Crystal, a leading linguist in 15th-century pronunciation. He admitted that it’s impossible to know exactly how he spoke, but this is as close as they will get.

The king was born in Northampton but spent a lot of his life in Yorkshire. His parents were also from the north of England.

Vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm spent a decade researching how the monarch would have sounded. She worked with the actor Thomas Dennis who was chosen as his body and face were such a good physical match.

Speaking to Sky News, she said people will be shocked at how different he sounded compared with traditional portrayals of the king on stage and screen.

The coach and actor also examined the king’s letters and diary so that “as you pronounced a word that’s how you would write it”.

The voice shows the change in pronunciation over the centuries – from regional variations to the Queen’s English.

History fans at the unveiling were delighted with the accent, with one telling Sky News: “Northerners are known to be happy, positive, all those lovely qualities.”

Born in Northampton but a northerner through and through, technology has brought the king’s speech back to life

UK

South Yorkshire Police warning after 13 dangerous dog reports in 48 hours

Published

53 mins ago

November 17, 2024

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South Yorkshire Police warning after 13 dangerous dog reports in 48 hours

South Yorkshire Police have warned pet owners to “step up before someone dies” after receiving 13 reports of dangerous dogs in less than 48 hours.

One man was attacked by his own American bulldog in Sheffield on Thursday afternoon, the force said, when he attempted to separate it and a pocket bully inside a property.

The owner suffered lacerations to his face, neck and head, and was taken to hospital, while his dog was seized and remains in police kennels.

Warning: Distressing images below

Another incident saw a woman walking home with her baby in a carrier on her chest, when she was approached by a loose XL bully who began to show aggression and jump up to her baby.

An elderly woman and her grandchild were attacked by another loose dog in Sheffield.

“As dogs causing harm and fear in our communities continues to place significant demand on our force, we’re urging owners to step up, before someone dies,” South Yorkshire Police said in a statement.

The warning comes after 10-year-old Savannah Bentham was killed at her family’s home in North Yorkshire by their dog on 1 November.

Chief Inspector Emma Cheney, leading the work on dangerous dogs across South Yorkshire, said: “Recently we have sadly seen another fatal incident in the UK of a dog causing death.

“People think it won’t happen to them, that their dog won’t cause harm, but it can happen to anyone. Any dog can cause fear and harm and owners who do not step up and prevent harm to our communities will not be tolerated.

“You are responsible for your dog’s actions, and we continue to put people before the courts.

“We only have a limited number of resources, attending dangerous dog incidents takes officers away from other calls. If every owner steps up and makes small changes, we can make a difference.”