Gotcha. The loss of USM was not deemed to be a mitigating factor. Mad really.
This is why.
Ukraine
123. Everton advances the Russian invasion of Ukraine as creating a mitigating
factor. Everton had the benefit of an option agreement that entitled USM
Services Limited to call down a Naming Rights Agreement generating an
annual fee for Everton of £10 million. The Naming Rights Agreement was
expected to come into force with effect from the 2025/2026 season. Everton
advanced in mitigation the assertion that it had been in negotiations with
USM Services Limited to bring the agreement into force early, producing an
accelerated annual receipt of £10 million commencing in FY 2022. No
agreement had been reached but negotiations were said to have reached an
advanced stage. The mitigation was claimed because the possibility of any
such agreement ceased upon imposition of sanctions on Russian entities by
the UK government following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Everton felt
that it had no alternative but to withdraw from the negotiations.
124. The Commission agrees with the Premier League that this cannot stand as a
head of mitigation. First, the prospects of an agreement having been
concluded are uncertain. We were not shown any contemporaneous
documents to show that receipt of the monies was probable. Second, the loss
of a proposed agreement, even when that agreement might have been thought
37
likely, is the type of event that businesses experience. It is not something that
can stand as diminishing Everton’s culpability.
We were trying to claim money from an agreement that didn't start until 2025/26.
