Mayor Andy Burnham has penned a letter accusing the Premier League of malpractice and “abuse of process” after they issued Everton with a points deduction for breaches of FFP earlier this month.
A lifelong Everton fan, the Mayor of Greater Manchester has lodged an official letter of complaint against the footballing body following his team’s punishment on 18 November, which included being docked an unprecedented 10 points in the table, leaving them in joint last place with Sheffield United.
The Aintree-born politician has now joined several others in contesting the top flight’s decision on the grounds that they decided to implement “new rules in the middle on an ongoing case” and that the independent commission is “flawed” in general.
Sharing his official complaint to the Premier League on social media, the 53-year-old equated their conduct during the investigation to an “abuse of process and regulatory malpractice”.
I am not saying @Everton do not have a case to answer. They do.
What I am saying is the process which led to the 10-point deduction is flawed.
The ruling should be declared null and void and a new process started following agreement on a sanctions policy with the 20 clubs.
As the Labour MP details in the lengthy statement, the sanctions policy was changed as recently August (months after the investigation into Everton’s finances first began) and argues that the one “should have had one in place before it commenced these proceedings and established this Commission”.
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Burnham goes on to concede that while the Toffees must still answer for irregularities in their bookkeeping — the club largely attributing their losses to post-pandemic recovery and the money invested in developing the new stadium — the points deduction should be “null and void” until a full agreement on due process has been agreed by all clubs.
To a similar effect, he also asked whether at any point the sanctions regime has been submitted to the 20 teams and, if so, why they haven’t been consulted before now.
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He also questioned why their £20 million breach of profitability and sustainability rules is worth a 10-point deduction but going to administration, i.e. unable to pay your way and creditors full stop, is deemed to be worth nine in comparison.
Everton fans have unsurprisingly left incensed by the Premier League’s decision with thousands of supporters protesting before their 3-0 loss to Manchester United on Sunday.
One thing that Andy Burnham’s letter doesn’t touch is also the Man City of it all, with countless football fans across the questioning raising an eyebrow as to why Everton have been charged but the blue side of Manchester has not despite their 115 charges.
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Although it is obviously a very complex case that won’t be resolved any time soon, in a nutshell, here are a few reasons why:
Many fans are wondering why there are still no updates on the club in the lighter shade of blue. 💰
Featured Image — Mayor of Greater Manchester (via X)/Everton (via Instagram)
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Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”