Former Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson has accused David Phillips KC of a “conflict of interest” after he ruled that Leeds United can take legal action against Everton.

After the Premier League deducted 10 points from the Toffees last week, it was revealed that Leeds, Leicester City, Southampton, Burnley and Nottingham Forest could sue the club.

Mr. Phillips had ruled in May, before the case became public, that the clubs could claim compensation from the Premier League if Everton had breached financial regulations.

In a post on his personal Twitter page on Monday (November 20), Anderson said: “The head of the commission David Phillips KC, who acted for Leeds UTD in the 15-point controversy in 2007, clearly has a conflict of interest with his links to his client Leeds, yet Phillips is judge and jury for Everton and said in May that Leeds could be entitled to compensation if EFC were at fault.”

Attacked

Anderson is right in that Phillips clearly has a connection to Leeds, even if it does not extend further than the previous case 15 years ago.

It would be easy to argue that Phillips is a professional who can put his personal feelings aside if he has any, but at the same time this only adds to the Toffees’ frustration.

The 10-point defeat may have angered fans, but it is nothing compared to the threat of having to pay up to £300 million to aggrieved rivals.

That could easily lead to the club going bankrupt, and who knows what would happen then.

In Leeds’ case, the Whites would have been relegated last season even if Everton had picked up 10 points, although of course they will argue that the Toffees benefited from overspending last year.

It’s all very complicated and confusing, and the worrying thing is that the worst may not have happened yet.