Everton are facing the possibility of a significant fine or even a possible points deduction from the Premier League as their ongoing controversy involving their pursuit of Marco Silva from Watford heads to the next level, according to the Times.
The newspaper claim on their website that after seeing the Hornets table a formal complaint about the manner in which the Toffees chased the Portuguese boss last year and no resolution has yet been found, an independent inquiry is now set to take place which could result in major sanctions being slapped on the Goodison Park outfit.
The report states that the likes of Silva and Everton owner Farhad Moshiri could be made to hand over phone records to prove innocence over the allegations.
Opinion
This will have the Toffees sweating in their boots, for they will no doubt be thinking that there is some shred of guilt in the way they pursued Silva nearly 12 months ago. The chase was all over the media after they chose to get rid of Ronald Koeman and although Sam Allardyce took over in the end, Watford’s results following the alleged hunt nosedived – the Hornets claiming that it was directly as a result of Everton’s desire to take him to Goodison Park. Now that an independent inquiry has been launched, things are being taken up a notch and it should not be too long until a decision is made over whether the Merseyside outfit acted out of line. If so, it looks as though a hefty fine will be on their way, with the threat of a points deduction enough to ward them off ever thinking of overstepping the mark again. This could be a seminal moment in the Premier League’s history too, changing the way that clubs chase both managers and players when they are contracted elsewhere.