Manchester City are accused of 115 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. The hearing for the English champions begins on Monday. What it’s all about – and what the consequences could be
What are Manchester City accused of?
In total, the Premier League has accused the club of 115 breaches of the league’s competition rules, which the club is alleged to have committed between 2009 and 2023. Of these, 68 alone relate to the club’s failure to provide accurate financial information to the league and to provide accurate details of player and manager payments. ManCity is also alleged to have breached UEFA rules, including Financial Fair Play, five consecutive times between 2013 and 2018 and the Premier League’s financial rules seven times. In addition, there were 35 breaches because the club allegedly failed to cooperate with the league’s investigations.
ManCity and Financial Fair Play, wasn’t there something?
Exactly. That was in 2020, when UEFA banned the club from the Champions League for two years because the club had listed too much sponsorship income in its books between 2012 and 2016. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the ruling a few months later because some of the allegations fell outside the five-year statute of limitations. Furthermore, the court did not see any substantive evidence for the allegations. ManCity got away with a fine of ten million euros
Who is actually negotiating?
The negotiations are conducted by an independent, three-member commission. The members of this commission are secret and will probably only be announced after the verdict has been announced. One member of the commission must be a financial expert. Manchester City will be represented by a team of lawyers led by top lawyer David Pannick. According to media reports, sports law expert Adam Lewis will lead the Premier League team. Negotiations will take place behind closed doors at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London
What will Manchester City face if they are convicted?
According to Rule W.51 of the Premier League Handbook, a committee can impose a wide range of sanctions on any club found to have broken the rules. This can include fines and points deductions or even expulsion from a competition. Subsection W.51.7 even states that the commission “may impose any combination of the foregoing measures or any other penalty it deems appropriate”. This means that it would theoretically even be possible for ManCity to be subsequently stripped of titles
Can action be taken against the ruling?
Yes. After the commission has published its verdict, either side can appeal to an appeal panel and then to an arbitration tribunal. If all else fails, both sides could try to appeal to the Supreme Court. However, the Premier League’s statutes prohibit an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
What does Manchester City say?
The club is entering the hearing with confidence. They have stated that they “welcome the review” and see the opportunity to “impartially consider the extensive and irrefutable evidence available to support our position”. When the Premier League investigation began, the club called the allegations “completely false”. Coach Pep Guardiola recently said he was looking forward to a decision: “Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. ”
How long will the trial take?
The hearing begins this Monday and is expected to last around ten weeks, according to media reports. This would bring the proceedings to an end at the end of November. However, there will not be a verdict immediately after the hearing. A date for this is not known, but the media do not expect a verdict to be delivered until early 2025