'Very troubling' - Sky Sports pull Andy Burnham interview ahead of Everton vs Man Utd as Toffees fan & ex-government minister accuses company of 'silencing' supporter dissent against 10-point Premier League deduction

Sky Sports chose not to air an interview with Burnham, Greater Manchester Mayor and Everton supporter, in which he urged the Premier League to rescind the Toffees' 10-point penalty. Burnham expressed deep concerns, questioning the decision to suppress his views and demanded an explanation from the broadcaster for the same.

Speaking to Daily Mail, Burnham said: "I don’t know why it wasn’t broadcast and I’d very much like an explanation. As a former Cabinet Minister, I don’t expect third parties to decide what I can and cannot say. There seems to be a wider picture here with views expressed by Evertonians at the game being silenced too. I find all this very troubling. They’ve have denied us our points. It surely can’t be right to deny Evertonians our voice as well?"

This incident follows Sky's non-coverage of a plane protest at the Etihad Stadium, during the televised clash between Manchester City and Liverpool, which carried a banner with the message ‘Premier League = corrupt’. Sky insiders attribute the decision to a shift in editorial direction after Terry Venables' death. However, the broadcasteralso claimed that they did not turn down the crowd volume despite several anti-Premier League chants from Everton fans as they felt that they were not loud enough to be heard during the broadcast.

38,000 pink cards were distributed at Goodison Park during the match against Manchester United. The cards had the Premier League logo and the word ‘corrupt’ printed on them. Burnham has submitted a formal complaint to the Premier League and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport as he believes that the competition authority sought a sanction policy midway through the investigation which was specific to Everton's case.

Sean Dyche's Everton, initially positioned nine points above the relegation zone, now confront a a challenging situation after they were docked 10 points due to a breach of Financial Fair Play rules, plunging them back into the drop zone. The team now face an uphill battle to preserve their much-vaunted status of being one of the handful of clubs to have remained in the Premier League since it was founded in 1992.