Everton and Newcastle to attend 'emergency meeting' as 'civil war' intensifies

The Premier League is the most commercially successful and elite football league in the world but Everton and Newcastle United are among the clubs who are furious with the way it is being run.

Everton have already felt the wrath of the Premier League‘s PSR (Profit and Sustainability Rules) enforcers, being hit with two separate points deductions last season for financial breaches.

And the drama is not over. Everton will face another PSR hearing this year relating to the capitalisation of loans they took out to fund the construction of the Bramley Moore Dock stadium.

That could lead to a fine or, theoretically, another points deduction.

Naturally, that would spark fury among Everton supporters who already feel the club has been unjustly treated by the Premier League.

In Newcastle‘s case, they have not breached PSR – which limits losses to £105m over a rolling three-year period – but they did flirt with the upper limits of the threshold in 2023-24.

It is telling that the two clubs were among those who provided evidence in Man City‘s favour in their legal challenge to the Premier League’s associated party transaction (APT) rules, which govern commercial deals.

The fallout from that case is continuing to metastasize, with Everton and Newcastle directly involved.

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Everton and Newcastle United

Both the Premier League and Man City have claimed victory in the APT case which has been the catalyst for major infighting within the division.

Now The Times are now reporting that Everton and Newcastle will be among the representatives at ’emergency talks’ between the Premier League’s most significant stakeholders to try and soothe tensions.

The discussions are set to take place in London and will focus on rewriting the APT rules after the independent tribunal found some elements of them to be unlawful.

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Why are Everton and Newcastle backing Man City?

Everton were livid when Leicester City escaped punishment for PSR breaches on a technicality earlier this year, especially given that Premier League clubs had to cover their legal costs.

There is also fury on Merseyside that the Premier League think that infrastructure costs should be exempt from PSR but not interest payments on the loans for infrastructure projects.

One of the outcomes of the APT case is likely to be that the Premier League will need to rewrite its rules on soft loans from shareholders – that is interest-free loans from owners.

Ironically, that change could backfire on Everton, who have over £400m in soft loans. Although the imminent change of ownership, with Dan Friekdin taking over from Farhad Moshiri, could change that.

For Newcastle, the motivations behind their support of City are clear. Like City, they are effectively owned by a Gulf state that wants to scale the top heights of football.

To do that, they need to circumvent PSR. And commercial income from APT deals – like Newcastle’s front-of-shirt and sleeve deals with Sela and Noon – would help them to pump money into the club.