Everton were on Monday, hit with a two-point deduction, for another breach of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Before this latest deduction, Sean Dyche’s side sat 15th in the Premier League table, four points above the bottom three.
However, they now drop below Brentford into 16th place on 27 points, two points and two places above 18th-placed Luton.
According to the written reasons published by the independent commission handling the case, Everton breached their allowed spending of a £105m loss over three seasons by £16.6m.
Everton say they and their legal team have “begun the preparations to appeal the Commission’s decision”. Should they confirm that appeal, then a decision on that must be heard by May 24, which is five days after the end of the Premier League season.
Everton were also deducted 10 points in November for exceeding permitted losses by £19.5m over a period ending with the 2021/22 season. However, this was reduced to six points following a successful appeal.