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Everton points deduction: What does it mean and why has it happened?

Everton flag

Everton have lost 10 points in the Premier League after the club was found to have broken some league rules.

It's the largest points deduction any team has ever been given for breaking Premier League rules.

Everton is now down to four points on the table, taking them from 14th to 19th place.

An investigation into Everton found the club broke Premier League rules on sustainability and profit.

The club said it was "shocked and disappointed" by the ruling and planned to challenge the decision.

What rules did they break?

Sean DycheImage source, Stephen Pond
Image caption,

Sean Dyche is Everton's manager

An independent commission - which is a group of people chosen to look at the issue - said Everton had problems with over-spending.

Teams are only allowed to lose £105million during one playing season. The investigation found Everton went £19.5million over that limit.

The commission said Everton had spent too much on new players, didn't sell enough players, and finished much lower in the league than they predicted they would.

Last season Everton finished 17th, narrowly missing relegation.

The commission decides what the punishment should be for Everton, and it chose for the team to lose 10 Premier League points.

Everton ground
Image caption,

Everton are now two points away from safety in the table. This means they're going to have to work hard to avoid being relegated

What have people said about it?

Everton said they did not think the punishment was fair.

The club made a statement, describing the "harshness and severity" of the punishment as "neither a fair nor a reasonable reflection of the evidence submitted".

The commission said Everton had acted "irresponsibly".

The position that Everton finds itself in is of its own making

Independent Commission

Has this happened to other teams before?

Although it's the biggest points deduction ever, this isn't the first time that clubs have had points removed for breaking rules.

Middlesbrough lost three points in the 1990s, and Portsmouth lost nine points in 2010. Both teams faced relegation at the end of the season.

There's still an ongoing case against Manchester City, who were charged with breaking financial rules in February this year.