Manchester City face huge sanction after being found guilty of 114 charges
Manchester City are facing a huge sanction after being found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges of breaching financial regulations brought by the Premier League.
The charges relate to disguised owner contributions, off-book payments to staff and non-cooperation and cover the period 2009 to 2018, when the club won three Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the EFL Cup.
The Athletic reported that no decision had yet been made on the punishment Manchester City should receive, and that the club was likely to appeal the guilty findings.
It follows almost two years of deliberations by an independent commission over the most serious disciplinary case in Premier League history.
A Manchester City spokesperson told The Athletic: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement of February 2023.”
In February 2023, after the club were charged by the Premier League following a three-year investigation, the club said they were surprised by the charges and welcomed the chance to challenge them.
The City spokesperson added: “The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”
Punishments available to the commission range from fines to points deductions and even expulsion from the top division. Historic points deductions could see Manchester City stripped of titles.
Manchester City charges: How did we get here?
The long-running case has been a hugely sensitive matter for the Premier League, given that Manchester City have been the most dominant team of the last 15 years.
The charges against them essentially allege that their success was at least in part built on cheating rules in place designed to ensure clubs broadly live within their means.
At issue are the true size of payments made by club sponsors, which are alleged to have been topped up by their mututal owners in Abu Dhabi; whether former manager Roberto Mancini received an undeclared salary top-up; and Manchester City’s willingness to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.
Manchester City have always maintained their innocence of all charges and continued to enjoy success in domestic competition as well as the Champions League while the process was ongoing.
The investigation was sparked by reporting by German media outlet Der Spiegel that leaked documents revealed the English club had been circumventing Premier League and Uefa spending rules.
Uefa launched its own probe and banned Manchester City from European club competitions for two years, although that was overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. City’s €30m fine was also reduced to €10m.
The time taken for the independent commission to deliver its verdict caused widespread frustration, including at the Premier League, which amended its rules in a bid to speed up future disciplinary processes.
What has reaction been to Manchester City verdict?
Leading sports lawyer Simon Leaf, co-founder of Three Points Law, said Manchester City would need to lodge any appeal within 14 days.
“Whilst the decision today will be a devastating blow to the club, this is only like to be the end of the beginning, with months, if not years still left to run on this saga,” he said.
“For now, all interested parties will be reviewing the written decision of the panel and liaising with their respective legal teams to work out the next move in this saga.”
The verdict is “not the end of the story but the beginning of a new phase”, said Ian Hargreaves, Partner at specialist disputes firm Quillon Law.
“The key questions this news raises are what sanction the panel considers proportionate and what guidance can be drawn from previous cases. There is a wide range of options, with a transfer ban at the more moderate end of the spectrum and expulsion from the league the most severe repercussion.
“There is also the question of whether the panel’s decision can withstand a hard-fought appeal, and on what grounds any challenge might be brought. Much will depend on the detail of the panel’s findings and reasoning, which will inevitably be closely scrutinised by both sides.
“The outcome will also have wider implications for the balance of power in European football, although Premier League clubs will point out that these findings relate to historic conduct and not the league’s current financial framework.”
Yasin Patel, a barrister at Church Court Chambers and member of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s disciplinary panel, said: “City’s lawyers will now analyse this decision and look at the options open to them to appeal, which may include procedural impropriety, wrongful interpretation of law, and legal errors – importantly, they can guarantee an appeal.
“Factoring in whether titles and trophies should be stripped, whether other clubs have been robbed of further revenue and opportunities due to City’s wrongdoings and losses incurred, we safely say that this is only the first chapter of a long-running legal saga that will not end any time soon.”