Relegation looming?! Man City and Chelsea sent dire warning by FFP expert and lawyer after Everton's ten-point deduction

Everton have been docked 10 points by the Premier League after breaching FFP rules, and Stefan Borson, a lawyer who has advised Manchester City in the past, believes that the precedent set could lead to relegations for both Chelsea and City - if they are found guilty.

Chelsea are being investigated over payments made by former owner Roman Abramovich, while City face 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.

The punishment meted out to Everton sets a remarkable precedent, although they have vowed to appeal the sanction. Were that appeal to be successful, one would have to think that Chelsea and City would potentially breathe a sigh of relief, but both cases are being held up by legal wranglings.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Borson said: "Without seeing the judgement, awarding -10 points for Everton feels harsh for a straightforward FFP breach to me. But reinforces that sanctions against City (if proven) and now Chelsea (if charged and admitted on the off-books payments) will be potentially relegation inducing.

"One thing is for sure, given the scale of this sporting sanction, Chelsea's calculus (in my opinion) that they could breach PL P&S (profit and sustainability rules) and just take a fine as a cost of doing business, must be in urgent and immediate reconsideration. The January window may be interesting. Even in the best case, they can no longer rely on being able to convince an Independent Commission to accept their Covid and Sanctions allowances as exceptional adjustments (to the extent that was the plan)."

Everton have revealed their intention to appeal. City and Chelsea will have to play a waiting game as their respective investigations continue.