Everton are facing a gross injustice at the moment, with the ten-point deduction administered back in November marking the catalyst for widespread unrest in Merseyside.
However, that disgust and frustration from the fans has transferred now, and instead of the board being public enemy number one, it is the Premier League who have become the lightning rod for their criticism.
And rightly so, because their treatment of one of their oldest and most historic institutions has been a disgrace.
Regardless of the outcome of their appeal, Monday night’s match with Crystal Palace will be rife with protest and anger, with a storm brewing at Goodison Park which will hopefully be there for all Sky Sports viewers to enjoy.
Well, in terms of negative decisions made, it is easier to outline what the Premier League haven’t done to Everton.
Their conduct over the last three or so months has been amateurish and incompetent, showcasing all the inadequacies that have merited the lobbying for an independent regulator.
It is arguably this looming threat which sparked the division into making this inflammatory action against the Toffees in the first place anyway.
The lack of set-in-stone statutes for which the distributed punishment was ordered is one major bone of contention, but then the dismissal of outstanding mitigating factors and the inclusion of loan interest costs attached to the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium arguably add to the controversy.
Then, to make matters worse, they have left the club and its supporters on tenterhooks for so long now, with the trial having concluded nearly two weeks ago.
A decision must have been made, so why on earth is it not public yet? Everton deserves to know their fate, as do their ever-loyal and unrelenting fanbase.
This alone offers a searing indictment of the governance of English football, but barely scratches the surface of the ongoing injustice that is rife throughout the boardrooms of these institutions.
Whilst VAR is one vehicle that continues to spark controversy every week, the fact that relegation this season could be decided in a courtroom only adds to the essence that football is no longer for the fans.
The ever-increasing ticket prices only reinforce this point, whilst Everton’s situation details how fans are disgustingly kept in the dark on issues that arguably affect them more than anyone else.
Despite building the sport up to the global powerhouse it is today, supporters in England especially are marginalised, treated as a customer rather than the integral part of the club that they are.
It is really getting tiring now with all this unruly control that governing bodies are exerting over powerless fans, and Everton’s situation offers the outstanding example of the Premier League’s failures.
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