The Toffees have appointed Laurence Rabinowitz KC ahead of their appeal. Everton were given the hefty punishment for breaching financial rules around profit and sustainability by an independent commission. But they are fighting the severity of the outcome.

Rabinowitz is regarded as a ‘super silk’ and the move proves Everton’s ambition to tackle the case head-on as the appeal gathers momentum. Everton were handed the sanction in November and it plunged them into a relegation fight.

They admitted to breaching the Premier League spending rules which allow for losses of £105million over three years. The club’s hierarchy accepted they had gone above the threshold by £9.7m. But they were adamant mitigating factors such as interest on stadium loans should have been taken into account. The club described the points deduction “wholly disproportionate and unjust”.

Rabinowitz is a specialist in commercial litigation and will lead the appeal along with James Segan KC, who worked with Everton for the original hearing. It’s understood that Rabinowitz is considered one of the best lawyers in the country, alongside Lord Pannick KC, who has been hired by Manchester City in their fight against Premier League charges, and Jonathan Crow. Everton cannot submit new evidence in their appeal but they can argue details about the process and the three-person panel.

The Toffees head into this weekend just a point above the bottom three and they could be in the relegation zone before they take on Aston Villa on Sunday if Luton beat Burnley on Friday night. The chair of the Premier League’s judicial panel, Murray Rosen KC, appointed the three-person board who heard Everton’s case for the first time.

He is now in charge of appointing a judicial panel of between 15 and 20 members for the appeal. The Premier League’s original statement read: “During the proceedings, the Club admitted it was in breach of the PSRs for the period ending Season 2021/22 but the extent of the breach remained in dispute. “Following a five-day hearing last month, the Commission determined that Everton FC’s PSR Calculation for the relevant period resulted in a loss of £124.5m, as contended by the Premier League, which exceeded the threshold of £105m permitted under the PSRs.

The commission concluded that a sporting sanction in the form of a 10-point deduction should be imposed.” As well as their appeal, Everton are awaiting feedback from the Premier League on their latest set of accounts. Everton and the other 19 Premier League clubs had to submit their accounts for the football year up to June 2023 before December 31 and will be informed of any breaches by January 15.

The Liverpool Echo has reported that the Premier League could, in theory, punish Everton twice for the same issue, because the latest accounts will cover a time period already investigated.