An update on the outcome of the hearing into Manchester City’s alleged Premier League financial rules breaches has been issued.
Man City were first accused of breaching Premier League financial rules in February 2023, with a 10-week hearing taking place in front of an independent commission in the autumn of 2024.
Since then, nearly a year has passed, and despite murmurs from the press and even head coach Pep Guardiola, no official verdict has been made public.
The 115 charges – some reports suggest the number is closer to 130 - are alleged to have occurred between 2008 and 2018.
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City are accused of 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information, 14 counts of failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments, five counts of failure to comply with UEFA’s rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) 2013-14 to 2017-18, seven counts of breaching Premier League’s PSR rules 2015-16 to 2017-18 with the remaining 35 charges related to failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations between December 2018 and February 2023.
Manchester City Football Club have consistently denied any wrongdoing and claimed they have a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position”, during a 2023 statement.
Since the hearing, there have been several suggestions that potential punishment could include relegation, fines or a point deduction, but this is purely speculation rather than information from official parties.
Still, the wait goes on, so when should we expect to finally learn of the verdict?
According to reports from The I Paper in late October, insider knowledge of the case told the outlet that a decision is due to drop in November – possibly during the international break which commences following this weekend’s round of fixtures.
Meanwhile, former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson has told Football Insider that the Premier League will continue to pursue the claims if it loses the case.
Borson claimed: “I think the most likely scenario is if it was to go against the executive team, the executive team will always say, ‘We have an obligation to pursue these claims, and it was an independent process that was something we had to do’.
“This is in the event that they lose. Obviously, if they win, then of course they’re vindicated in terms of pursuing City.
“But if they were to lose, I think they would still say, ‘Well, we had an obligation. We lost, but we didn’t do anything wrong’. I think realistically that that’s going to cause the executive team some challenges.”
Borson also believes that Premier League chair Alison Brittain will be re-elected regardless of the result of the case.
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, FFP, Pep Guardiola, Football
Luke Davies