Everton shareholders have urged Farhad Moshiri and the Premier League to make a decision on the future of the club.

The Toffees, who have been hit with two separate points deductions this season due to previous financial discrepancies, secured their Premier League status in April by beating Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brentford in the space of six days.

However, Everton remain in turmoil off the pitch, with majority shareholder Moshiri wanting out. He is aiming to sell the club to 777 Partners, a Miami-based investment firm that has stakes in several other clubs, including Genoa and Standard Liege.

There is no lack of controversy surrounding 777, though, and their co-founders Josh Wander and Steve Pasko.

It has been close to eight months since Moshiri confirmed his intention to sell his 94.1 per cent stake in Everton to 777, but so far the group has been unable to pass the Premier League's Owners' and Directors test.

While 777 has pumped over £200million into Everton to fund the day-to-day running of the club, it has now the subject of multiple lawsuits.

One of these lawsuits is by Leadenhall Capital Partners LLP and Leadenhall Life Insurance Linked Investments Fund plc, in New York.

Leadenhall claims Pasko and Wander "are operating a giant shell game at best, and an outright Ponzi scheme at worst".

On Tuesday, Everton's shareholders released a statement condemning the situation.

The statement read: "We are the oldest shareholders’ association in the world and are dismayed by the lack of respect being shown to our football club by the largest shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, and the Premier League during what seems a never-ending change of ownership process.

"We have observed with concern and frustration as it became increasingly clear that a fit-for-purpose process cannot possibly take this long as the Premier League continues to demonstrate their inability to regulate.

"In the absence of the Premier League ­making a timely decision we insist that the Everton board, and Farhad Moshiri in particular, stop this ­damaging process now and ­recognise that 777 Partners are not at this time fit-and-proper ­­prospective ­owners of Everton Football Club.

"The ­powers that be are being ­disrespectful to our fellow ­shareholders, our ­fantastic ­worldwide fanbase and football as a whole by continuing to allow this farce to continue. We demand a ­decision and we demand it now."

Everton face Sheffield United on Saturday before rounding out their season with a trip to Arsenal.

Seamus Coleman’s stoppage-time own goal condemned Everton to a bruising 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth as they equalled their worst Premier League run of 12 games without a win.

Beto’s 87th-minute equaliser to cancel out Dominic Solanke’s opener looked set to earn Sean Dyche’s side a valuable point, but Coleman’s late intervention left them empty-handed.

This is a crunch time for Everton both on and off the pitch. Their majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri said ahead of the game he remained confident the protracted takeover of the club by 777 Partners would be completed soon and herald a brighter future.

The club are also due to find out the verdict of a second charge of breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, with a further points deduction a possibility before the end of the season in addition to the six they have already lost.

The omens coming to Bournemouth were not positive for Dyche’s side. The Cherries had never lost at home to Everton in the Premier League and the visitors came into the match without a win in 2024.

Next up for the Toffees is a trip to Newcastle followed by a relegation clash against Burnley at Goodison Park.

On Saturday Bournemouth made the early running in the spring sunshine and Antoine Semenyo hit a fierce shot at Jordan Pickford before Lewis Cook blasted the rebound over.

Slowly Everton began to grow into the game and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, without a goal since October, saw an early effort blocked by Chris Mepham.

Everton were gradually becoming a little bolder and Calvert-Lewin had their best chance when the ball fell to him off James Tarkowski’s heel, but he could not generate the required power and Neto pushed the ball to safety.

With the half drawing to a close, Bournemouth re-exerted themselves and Semenyo struck the base of a post as he seized on a loose ball after Jarrad Branthwaite had got caught up with Tyler Adams.

The home side subsequently appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty, with Dyche and opposite number Andoni Iraola becoming tetchy in the dugouts.

The pace of the game increased after the break and Dwight McNeil struck the near post as he attempted a cross, with Bournemouth’s defenders relieved to see the loose ball go wide after it deflected off Mepham.

Then Bournemouth struck as Solanke got between Tarkowski and Ben Godfrey to head in Lloyd Kelly’s cross, taking his tally to 16 for the season.

Everton looked to have claimed an unlikely point when Neto dropped McNeil’s cross right at the feet of Beto, who rolled the ball home from close range to leave Dyche punching the air in the dugout.

But, in a final twist, Adam’s Smith deep cross bounced up and hit Coleman on the chest before dropping agonisingly into the net.

Everton fans have demanded clarity over a protracted takeover bid which they say has left the club “in limbo”.

The Toffees’ Fan Advisory Board (FAB) has written to current owner Farhad Moshiri, prospective owners 777 Partners and the Premier League seeking answers, with the takeover appearing to have stalled since it was first agreed last September. Fans also want to know what would happen if the deal does not proceed.

“Our club is caught up in an endless swirl of uncertainty. In football terms, it’s like the referee has been sent to the VAR monitor but is stuck there with no sign of sharing a decision so the game can move on,” FAB chair Dave Kelly said.

“Whilst we understand that some of the decisions being considered are complex and we hope that they are subject to the rigour and scrutiny they deserve, supporters, players and this great club of ours are being left in limbo. We’re now asking for some long overdue clarity on how we can all move forward.”

Moshiri has been asked to speak to fans about what would happen if the 777 deal did not receive Premier League approval, whether his deal with 777 is timebound, whether other investors are waiting in the wings and whether he will continue to fund the club until a satisfactory investor is found.

“An interim board, an interim CEO, and an owner in absentia is not good enough for our club which is faced with sporting and financial uncertainty, the ramifications of which will reach far and wide,” the FAB’s letter to Moshiri, seen by the PA news agency, states.

“Your club and its supporters need clarity, vision, and leadership and we urge you to now provide it.”

The FAB’s letter to 777 co-founder Josh Wander urges the American investment firm to engage with supporters, and highlights that the lack of consultation to date is “a source of deep concern”.

“Concerns are being expressed that 777 Partners do not have the capacity, ability, or culture to make our club stable and successful,” the letter states.

“Given these concerns, we would encourage you to attempt to reassure Evertonians worldwide at the earliest opportunity of your vision, strategy, and operational wherewithal to bring Everton Football Club back to its rightful place at the pinnacle of football.”

The letter to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters seeks clarity over whether the league’s rules allow it to reject a takeover bid, or whether deals can only be “held in abeyance” until the necessary paperwork is provided.

“If the latter is the case, is the provision of such documentation time-bound or could this already protracted process drag on indefinitely due to the inability to reject outright?” the FAB asked Masters.

The FAB requested responses from all three parties by Friday.

Everton have been docked six points this season for breaching Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) in the period up to the 2021-22 season, and face the threat of further sanction after a second complaint was served in January for the period ending June 30, 2023.

The independent commission hearing the second complaint will reportedly conclude on Wednesday. Under league rules, a decision has to be communicated by the commission within seven days of the hearing ending.