Everton owner Farhad Moshiri calls for Premier League breakaway clubs to be docked points

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has piled in on the European Super League debate, calling for the six breakaway Premier League clubs to be deducted points.

Moshiri also insisted that Everton would “never, never” accept an invitation to join such a league.

The Toffees board of directors released a damning statement condemning the “preposterous arrogance” of the six clubs - Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool FC, Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur - on Tuesday morning ahead of a meeting between the 14 other Premier League sides.

Shortly afterwards Moshiri spoke to Talksport’s Jim White about the proposal and also Financial Fair Play, which he feels has been abused by the big clubs to maintain their position.

“Clubs like Arsenal, United, Liverpool, who were behind Financial Fair Play, they have starved the other clubs of finance using Financial Fair Play to maintain their position and they want to consolidate it forever. This is the irony of it. It just demonstrates Financial Fair Play has been nothing but financial ‘unfair’ play.

“Every facet of the Super League is against the very idea of British football. Football clubs are community assets, they belong to the fans and to the communities. This takes much of the romance of football away.

“It is something which makes the game a money game, it’s not football anymore.

I think the Premier League should deduct points from these clubs.

“Clubs get points deductions for poaching a manager or a player, or exceeding FFP, but this is the clubs attacking the heart of the Premier League and I think they should be disciplined. That is what I think they should do. They should’ve discussed [their plans] with the Premier League and reached a consensus. They should’ve discussed it with all of the chairmen , the Premier League, the FA, FIFA and Uefa.

“The Champions League is an amazing competition. It is the super league.”

“I think the Premier League needs to discipline these clubs. The Premier League has its constitution. They need to treat the powerful clubs as severely as the poor clubs. Football is about competition. When you watch West Bromwich Albion beating Chelsea, this is football. Every club can outperform another on a Saturday, it is 11 v 11. A club like Leeds can go down and come back and draw with Liverpool. This is football. The plans devalue the game.”

Now some would argue that of course Moshiri would say that and it is pretty much an open goal given the tide of public opinion - but that does not mean he is wrong. Plus the tone of his comments and the club statement are incredibly strong, making the Toffees’ stance perfectly clear.

His comments on FFP are also revealing. Everton have been hamstrung in the transfer market following their ill-fated splurged in the summer of 2017, limiting what they can spend in order to fall in line with the regulations.

Should FFP be removed or, more realistically, modified, particularly given the impact of Covid-19, will that give Moshiri more freedom to increase his already generous financial backing?