It will be an interesting case if it does go to court.

The claim will be based on negligence and the damages resulting through the “loss of chance” resulting from the negligence.

For negligence the plaintiff (Burnley) will have to prove that the defendant (Everton) had a duty of care to Burnley and that a breach of any such duty of care would result in a reasonably foreseeable damage to Burnley.

There is a quasi-contractual relationship through membership of the Premier League and its rules and regulations. As such one could argue that teams owe each other a duty of care in complying with those rules and regulations.

However, over the results of a 38 match season, it is hard to argue that Burnley being relegated is a direct result of Everton’s breach.

Similarly the imposition of the penalty in the subsequent season was a decision of the PL and not Everton. If that was in accordance with the rules and regulations of the PL that Burnley signed up to, Burnley is bound by that decision and can’t really complain.