The Nathan Patterson Rangers to Everton transfer probed by Jamie Carragher as Premier League asked 'why not intervene?'
The Toffees have been slapped with a 10-point deduction sending them to the bottom of the table after a breach of Financial Fair Play rules.
Baffled Jamie Carragher has questioned why the English Premier League did not halt Nathan Patterson's Everton move from Rangers after the club's 10-point deduction.
Sean Dyche's team saw then their points tally slashed from 14 to 4 after the Premier League Commission judged the Toffees to have breached Financial Fair Play rules - leaving them joint bottom of the table along with newly promoted Burnley. The Commission imposed the sanction as punishment for the Goodison club incurring unacceptable financial losses compared to revenue generated.
The decision sparked a scathing reaction from Everton - who insisted they had been left "shocked" by the decision having been open in their discussions over deal with regulators. This included the signing of Scotland defender Patterson from Rangers back in January 2022 - which contributed to the £19.5million losses that saw Everton hit with the hefty sanction.
And pundit Carragher insists the Premier League should have halted the arrivals of Vitalii Mykolenko and Patterson in that window to stop a bumper punishment arriving in the post. Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Carragher said: "I agree with Evertonians that the 10-point penalty is extremely harsh given the circumstances.
"There is no question Everton have broken the rules and nobody has been more critical about the way the club have been run than me. Farhad Moshiri's reign has been awful from beginning to end, assuming his sale goes ahead.
"Nevertheless, after all the accusations against Everton, to have 10 points deducted because the club losses over three years were £19.5million more than allowed seems disproportionate. The rules must be followed and deterrents are necessary to stop others gaining an unfair advantage by overspending, but in this case a fine or a transfer embargo would have been appropriate.
"It is hard to understand the logic behind how the club would have received less punishment by going into administration - resulting in a nine-point deduction. If Everton were guilty of wilfully deceiving the Premier League, failing to be transparent about the financial difficulties, or basically lying about the amounts they are really spending and "cooking the books", I would feel differently.
"My sympathies are extended because they have been the opposite of this. It is hard to understand how the Premier League could be working with a club to ensure they remained compliant, watching them complete signings such as those for Nathan Patterson and Vitalii Mykolenko for a combined fee of around £30million in January 2022, only to suggest the club had lost around £20million too much. Why not intervene at that point?"