Manchester City is in danger of receiving a points deduction or even relegation from the Premier League this season – boosting Liverpool’s hopes of winning the title
Manchester City’s hearing could come next month
Manchester City is bracing for its showdown next month over 115 alleged breaches of Premier League rules, with a decision possible as soon as the new year.
In an update from The Times, it appears the independent commission’s session to deliberate on City’s case will kick off in mid-September rather than November as expected. This is, of course, subject to change if there are additional legal hurdles.
Reserved for a 10-week stint, the hearing is tipped to declare its judgement, while City anticipates another verdict concerning associated party transactions in a mere two weeks. Despite denying any malpractice, should the weightier allegations hold true, the club could be staring down the barrel of Premier League relegation.
City could also receive a points deduction. If Pep Guardiola’s team is handed a points deduction or relegated from the Premier League, it would boost Liverpool’s hopes of winning the title. It would also be good news for other teams trying to win the biggest prize in English soccer, such as Liverpool and Manchester United.
City has dominated the Premier League in recent years, winning six of the last seven titles. That includes four consecutive championships, the first team in English soccer to achieve that feat. Never has a team dominated the league like this.
The only team to stop City in recent times is Liverpool, who was victorious during the 2019/20 season. The Reds know just how frustrating a powerful City is, having finished second behind the Manchester club during the 2018/19 and 2021/22 campaigns.
Spanning nine seasons, the charges claim that City obscured the true nature of its financial dealings, notably regarding payments to former manager Roberto Mancini and certain players. Accusations also include obstructing the probe itself.
Premier League chief Richard Masters, addressing the issue in April, asserted that “the case will resolve itself at some point in the near future.”
Manchester City are constantly brought up in any discussion about Financial Fair Play amid their Premier League charges
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MAY 21: Richard Masters the Chief Executive Officer of the Premier League stands next to the Premier League trophy after the Premier League match between Manchester City and Chelsea FC at Etihad Stadium on May 21, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Premier League chief executive hands another trophy over to Manchester City
An Englishman, an Irishman, and a Scotsman walk into a bar. “bUt WhAt AbOuT mAn CiTy????!!!!!!” they all scream in unison, before collapsing with rage.
Lots of people are very angry about Manchester City whenever there is any news relating to Financial Fair Play, or the Profitability & Sustainability Rules (PSR) that are currently doing the same job in the Premier League. Whenever any club is charged or punished, the same question is spat across the internet a thousand times: “What about Man City?”
Unfortunately, such curiousness about City rarely translates into those people finding the answers out for themselves. Here, then, is a handy guide to what City have been accused of and why their case is different to most others.
What about Man City?
A fair question to ask. City have been charged by the Premier League with over 100 breaches of Premier League rules spanning 14 seasons.
There are accusations with not co-operating with the Premier League investigation, not abiding by PSR regulations, and – most damningly – nine seasons of essentially not giving truthful and accurate information about their finances. These are incredibly damaging allegations that, if proven (and it’s a big if), would warrant incredibly serious punishments.
Barely any details of the case can be made public. It is claimed the hearing will begin in September, with an outcome set to be decided by 2025.
Why has it taken so long?
City were charged in February 2023, so the whole process could take over two years to complete. That feels like a long time, and Pep Guardiola is included in the long list of people who would like it wrapped up sooner.
However, because the list of charges is so long and complicated and because the consequences of the hearing will be so monumental, time has to be given for everything to be done properly. As football finance expert Kieran Maguire told the Manchester Evening News at the time: “The Premier League is shooting itself in the foot. If you have 100 charges, you need to have the time to have 100 defences.”
City haven’t ‘got away with it’, it is just their day of reckoning is further away because it is so much more complex.
Why are City treated differently to other clubs?
City are treated differently to clubs such as Everton and Nottingham Forest because their situations are completely different. City aren’t so much disputing multiple murder charges as claiming that there is no victim, whereas according to the Premier League both Everton and Forest have accepted breaches but believe their reasons for doing so is enough mitigation to avoid strict punishment.
As Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said when speaking at a select committee: “They are very different charges. If any club, whether they are the current champions or otherwise, had been found in breach of the spending rules for year ’23, they would be in exactly the same position as Everton or Nottingham Forest.
“The volume and character of the charges laid before Man City, which I cannot talk about at all, are being heard in a completely different environment. There is a date set for that proceeding.”
What is happening at Everton?
On April 8, Everton were hit with a fresh points deduction, losing a further two points from their tally for another breach of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules. As a result, the Toffees dropped from 15th to 16th but managed to avoid relegation.
Everton argued for a one-point deduction to be deferred until next season. In total, they were docked eight points last season. They had 10 points docked in November for exceeding permitted losses by £19.5million during the 2021/22 but this was reduced to six points following an appeal.
Why not deal with City first though?
Again, this is a reasonable enough thought but one that doesn’t tie in with the reality of what the clubs have already decided. Everton, Nottingham Forest and everyone else agreed to a set of rule changes at the Premier League AGM in 2023 to speed up straightforward cases.
This meant that standard directions were put in place for PSR cases to be handled in the season in which the breaches occurred so that everybody can be happy that nobody has got away with an unfair competitive advantage.
City’s breaches are historical, and denied, so they are not straightforward. Work is also being done on the case at the same time as others are being dealt with, it just takes longer for all the reasons set out above.
Doesn’t that mean City are getting away with it?
If they are found to have breached PSR and systemically misrepresented their finances, they will have operated with an unfair competitive advantage for years. That’s why, if the Premier League prove the case, the consequences will be more in line with expulsion from the league rather than a few points being deducted.
At the same time, the most significant charges are so serious that it will take a high bar of evidence to support the claims. “It would not be good enough for the Premier League to argue that Manchester City failed to co-operate with the Premier League’s investigation,” write Dr Dan Plumley and Dr Gregory Ioannidis in an academic paper in the International Sports Law Review.
“The Premier League would have to go beyond this, by proving that Manchester City, as a matter of fact and evidence, failed to produce accurate financial information (and/or lied about it) in relation to their revenue, within the meaning of the current regulations. This is not an easy burden for the Premier League. But it should not be easy, because the allegations produced are of a very serious nature.”
It’s not a perfect system, but it is the system that everyone signed up for.
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