Everton have been ordered to pay Burnley more than £35 million ($45.6m) in compensation after they were sued over Premier League profitability and sustainability breaches from the 2021/22 season when the Clarets were relegated.
The Toffees were deducted 10 points in late 2023 for financial misdemeanours, a punishment reduced to six points on appeal a few months later, under the previous regime of Farhad Moshiri.
Everton finished four points above 18th-placed Burnley in 2021/22 but the Lancashire club successfully argued that had the six-point penalty for PSR breaches been applied that season then they would have survived at the Toffees' expense.
Angry Toffees officials have lodged an immediate appeal at what they view as a "flawed" judgement.
The club's hierarchy were "astonished" by the ruling and believe it sets a dangerous precedent for football as such a ruling would have been "catastrophic" had the club not got itself onto a more secure financial footing with the December 2024 takeover by The Friedkin Group.
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"Everton Football Club is surprised and angered by the decision of a Premier League Independent Disciplinary Commission to order a compensation payment to Burnley Football Club in relation to Everton's PSR breach in June 2022," a club statement said.
"Everton has appealed the decision and is clear in its belief the ruling is fundamentally flawed in both law and fact.
"The club does not recognise the findings of the panel in determining Burnley's relegation from the Premier League in May 2022 was caused by a sporting advantage gained by Everton due to a breach of profit & sustainability rules, for which a substantive sporting sanction has already been received.
"This ruling sets a dangerous and unworkable precedent for English football, given it is constructed on a principle that a club can be in breach of financial rules at any point in a financial year.
"Everton believes the panel's ruling misrepresents the clear evidence presented by its legal representatives and that an appeal will be successful."
Everton's compensation order was £26m ($34.9m), plus interest of £9.1m ($12.2m), but there is more interest to be added on which could take the total close to £40m ($53.6m).
Burnley are believed to have sought £51.7m ($69.3m) in recompense but Everton fundamentally disputed the calculation of the extent of the financial loss.
Other clubs had explored the possibility of suing but did not proceed and there are no further cases outstanding against the club.
Everton were judged to have overspent by £19.5m ($26.2m) for the accounting period. However, they argue they were unaware they were going to be in breach and there were six weeks between Burnley being relegated and the end of their financial year when they could have taken steps to avoid the breach.
The club are adamant the judgement will not affect plans for this summer's transfer window and neither will the compensation penalty impact any future PSR calculations.
Burnley chairman Alan Pace felt the club's action had been validated.
"What we could not accept and what no club should be asked to accept was competing in a competition later shown to have been compromised," he said in a statement.
"The Independent Commission has now confirmed, in clear terms, that a rule was broken and a competitive advantage was improperly gained.
"Our action has always been about making football fair. Clubs that comply with the rules deserve to compete on a level playing field. Fans deserve it. The sport demands it.
"The Commission's decision affirms the existing framework to protect the game."