Everton v Man Utd: Toffees fans hold anti-Premier League protest over points deduction
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Fans held up cards with the word 'corrupt' printed underneath the Premier League logo and booed during the top-flight anthem before kick-off
Thousands of Everton fans have held anti-Premier League protests after the club received a 10-point deduction for breaching financial rules.
The Toffees lost 3-0 to Manchester United on Sunday in their first match since being handed the biggest sporting sanction in the competition's history.
Supporters marched to Goodison Park in protest at the scale of the punishment.
The club have said they will appeal against the sanction and have until next week to make it formal.
English top-flight clubs are permitted to lose £105m over three years, and an independent commission found Everton's losses to 2021-22 amounted to £124.5m.
Prior to being docked points, Everton were 14th in the table but dropped down to 19th, with only goal difference keeping them ahead of bottom side Burnley.
A fans' group, The 1878s, have since raised more than £40,000 through crowdfunding for material, with its feeling of injustice being firmly pointed towards the Premier League.
Fans gathered in huge numbers outside a nearby pub on County Road, which was closed to traffic, about half an hour before kick-off.
Some climbed on bus stops to wave flags, while others waved blue smoke bombs, before the crowd slowly made their way towards Goodison Park.
Cards were handed out around the stadium with the word 'corrupt' printed underneath the Premier League logo, with fans holding them up and loudly jeering the top-flight anthem before kick-off.
Inside the ground, a number of new banners were installed in the stands, some of which read 'Premier League, hang your heads in shame' and 'we shall not be moved'.
In a pre-planned move, supporters vented their feelings in the 10th minute of the match with chants against the Premier League. A number of fireworks were also let off outside the ground.
Aware of the 16:30 GMT kick-off time for Sunday's game, The 1878 group paid for a plane to be flown over Etihad Stadium in the Saturday lunchtime match between Manchester City and Liverpool, which trailed a banner saying 'Premier League = corrupt'.
Fans gathered outside a nearby pub before marching to Goodison Park
Giant protest banners were unfurled in the Gwladys Street before kick-off
Fans held up protest banners and cards before and during the game
Punishment should be null and void - Burnham
Greater Manchester Metro Mayor Andy Burnham, an Everton season-ticket holder, has written a letter to Premier League chair Alison Brittain calling for the punishment to be declared "null and void".
Writing as an Everton fan and not in an official capacity, Burnham said the Toffees did have a case to answer but the independent commission's judgement is not valid because a sanctions policy was not in place before the start of the hearing.
Burnham added that the Premier League's attempts to introduce a sanctions policy in the middle of the process amounts to "an abuse of process" and is "akin to the government handing new sentencing guidelines to a judge in the middle of a particular trial".
He added: "From my experience of regulation, introducing new rules in the late stages of a process would be regarded as regulatory malpractice."
The Premier League declined to comment but is understood to dispute his suggestion that it tried to introduce a sanctions policy after Everton were charged.
It is also known to reject his suggestion that the punishment was designed to "fend off" the incoming independent football regulator.
BBC Sport understands it is standard practice for both parties to submit views on sanctions to an independent commission and on this occasion the three-person panel rejected opinions of both the Premier League and Everton and decided on their own formulation of punishment.
Earlier this week, director of football Kevin Thelwell said Everton's spirit remains "strong" and "unwavering", while manager Sean Dyche said on Friday they feel "aggrieved" at the points deduction.
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