Manchester City have been charged with alleged breaches of financial rules by the Premier League following a long-standing investigation. What are the regulations that have been broken? How serious are these charges and what punishments could Man City face?
What are the charges?
The Premier League have charged Manchester City with breaching Financial Fair Play rules from 2009 until 2018. There are over 100 separate rule breaches although many of these are the same rules broken over multiple seasons. It's important to note that during that nine year spell City won the Premier League three times.
The Premier League's Financial Fair Play rules are designed to ensure clubs only spend what they earn. One way around this is to inflate the amount earned and hide the amount spent.
According to the Premier League Man City did not provide accurate financial information regarding the pay of one of their managers over a four-year timeframe. It is rumoured that this particular manager was actually paid far more than was officially stated.
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City are also alleged to have breached UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations and to have not fully co-operated with the Premier League's investigations into the matters.
'Time Bar' unlikely to aid City defence this time
Manchester City were investigated by UEFA and banned from European Competition back in February 2020 following breaches of FFP rules. They were also fined €30m. City took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) the CAS panel found that the alleged rules breaches were not established or time barred, effectively meaning they had happened too long ago for UEFA to take action.
Importantly the Premier League's rules do not have a time bar on them and so this defence is unlikely to be of any use to City this time around.
One crucial difference between the Premier League and UEFA's FFP rules is that UEFA has a statute of limitations which limits the availability of evidence to five years. No such thing applies to the Premier League's rules.
What punishments could City face?
Premier League rules state that a points deduction or complete expulsion from the league could be imposed on a team that breaks the rules. This would likely be an extreme response.
If a points deduction is the outcome then it would be enacted upon this current season's points haul. Other punishments include a potential replaying of fixtures, a compensation payment or transfer ban.
What is the timeframe for the punishment decision?
It is unlikely this matter will be conclusively dealt with anytime soon. This investigation into Man City's financial affairs is already four years old. The chances of anything happeneing between now and the end of this season in May is highly unlikely.
How did this all begin in the first place?
The alleged Man City breaches came to light when German news outlet Der Spiegel published leaked documents obtained by a computer hacker. This is what sparked both UEFA and the Premier League's investigations.
On Monday Manchester City release a statement. It read, "Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with.
"The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.
"As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all."
Can they appeal?
Manchester City and the Premier League will both be able to appeal whenever the final judgement is made.
However this case cannot be taken to CAS. Instead an appeal panel would be formed to deal with the appeal process.
What could this mean for other Premier League clubs?
It is thought to be unlikely that another Premier League club or rival could succesfully argue that they had lost a title or Champions League spot due to this matter. What it may do though is serve a stark reminder that such rules must be adhered to. This however may depend entirely on the severity of the punishment City are given.
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Manchester City charged with numerous breaches of financial rules by Premier League
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