Everton have been deducted 10 points after the Premier League found the club guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. The Toffees, however, will immediately appeal the decision.

A statement from Everton said: "Everton Football Club is both shocked and disappointed by the ruling of the Premier League's Commission. The Club believes that the Commission has imposed a wholly disproportionate and unjust sporting sanction.

"The Club has already communicated its intention to appeal the decision to the Premier League. The appeal process will now commence and the Club's case will be heard by an Appeal Board appointed pursuant to the Premier League's rules in due course.

"Everton maintains that it has been open and transparent in the information it has provided to the Premier League and that it has always respected the integrity of the process. The Club does not recognise the finding that it failed to act with the utmost good faith and it does not understand this to have been an allegation made by the Premier League during the course of proceedings.

"Both the harshness and severity of the sanction imposed by the Commission are neither a fair nor a reasonable reflection of the evidence submitted. The Club will also monitor with great interest the decisions made in any other cases concerning the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules."

Everton have now moved to joint-20th in the Premier League table – ahead of Burnley on goal difference. Chelsea now face an anxious wait after some concerning reports emerged earlier in the week.

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Reports earlier in the week raised even more questions about their success under previous owner Roman Abramovich. Following a joint investigation by the Guardian and a group of international outlets including the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and Germany’s Paper Trail Media, files have been uncovered relating to a series of payments spread out over a decade worth tens of millions of pounds.

Said payments are reportedly 'routed through offshore vehicles', which belong to Abramovich. Such transactions are said to be for Chelsea's benefit and there have been questions asked whether the relevant governing bodies were made aware of the accounts.

Those who benefitted from the payments appeared to include the agent of Chelsea great Eden Hazard, who retired just last month, an associate of the title-winning manager Antonio Conte and Chelsea FC officials. Last month, the Blues' acquisition of both Willian and Samuel Eto'o also came into question after it was revealed that a company owned by Abramovich also made payments that appear to have benefited fellow Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, the owner of Anzhi Makhachkala whom the pair played for.

It was then revealed that two months prior to the deals, the Abramovich-owned Leiston Holdings had paid two companies connected to Kerimov for "services in […] relating to football, including scouting and other football-related advice". According to the Guardian, experts now believe that the Blues face a points deduction as a possible penalty for the dealings.

Chelsea will now wait to see if anything comes from all of this. The Blues, though, will be desperate to not have the same result as Everton have had, albeit in differing circumstances.