sport news RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Chaos and confusion reign in the season of the asterisk...as ... trends now
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So this is what football looks like in the season 2023-24 — the year of the pencil. Of the lightly drawn asterisk. Of the draconian sanctions that might be terminal to a campaign, but could also be rubbed away in a hearing and no hard feelings.
We don’t know how the situations with Everton and Nottingham Forest will play out. We don’t know if those charges issued by the Premier League on Monday will translate into deductions, just as we don’t know if Everton’s original 10-point penalty will diminish, disappear or endure in its entirety via the appeal process.
What we do know is that chaos and confusion have found themselves a comfy spot in the table, taking the place of the certainty we used to get from cold, dependable numbers. Remember when numbers were absolute? When the numbers you had when the music stopped were the numbers you were stuck with?
The music is scheduled to cease with the end of the Premier League season on May 19, but that isn’t final, either. Not now.
If we focus on the more layered scenario at Everton, the matter of their survival or demise could drag beyond the last game. Everton might celebrate staying up at Arsenal and then lose their place days later in a judicial hearing, because asterisk two cannot be heard, appealed and resolved until asterisk one is dealt with.
Everton could face a second points penalty following Monday's revelation that they had been hit with another Premier League charge relating to spending
Home supporters coordinated a protest during the Toffees first game following their 10-point deduction in November
That’s an almighty mess to comprehend, but it’s in keeping with football in the VAR era — no significant moment can be trusted until all checks are
