A new report has revealed when Manchester City expect to learn a verdict in their 115 charges case.
City were charged with 115 breaches of financial rules by the Premier League in February 2023. A minority of the charges relate to UEFA's rules.
The club strenuously deny any wrongdoing. A private hearing into the charges was held over a six-week period at the end of last year.
The Times reported in March that the decision process could stretch into the 2025/26 season, with both parties then able to appeal depending on the verdict.
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Indeed, on the eve of City's opening Premier League fixture of the season against Wolves, Pep Guardiola's side still do not know whether they will face any provisional punishments or sanctions.
Speaking to the i Paper, sports lawyer and former professional footballer David Winnie explained that proceedings have been so lengthy due to the sheer significance of any decision, with the panel required to reach a verdict on the 'balance of probabilities'.
He added that a potential 'nuclear' punishment, in the event of a guilty verdict for any of the charges, would be for City to be relegated from the Premier League, though the league do not have the power to administratively relegate one of its teams.
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Instead, they could simply hand City a significant enough points deduction that could not be overcome.
Winnie added: "When the decision comes down, and if some of these charges, not even all of them but some of them, are proven, I would not be surprised if other teams in the Premier League jump on the bandwagon and start their own proceedings against either the club or the Premier League itself."
According to The Independent, meanwhile, City are expected to hear the outcome of their case in 'late September or early October'.
The timing of that outcome would doubtless be less than ideal, given that the Premier League season will be well underway by that point.
What are the 115 charges against Man City?
- Failure to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information from 2009/10 to and including 2017/18 - 54 alleged breaches
- Failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 - February 2023 - 35 alleged breaches
- Failure to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation from 2009/10 to and including 2017/18 - 14 alleged breaches
- Breaches of Premier League profitability and sustainability regulations from 2015/16 to and including 2017/18 - Seven alleged breaches
- Failure to comply with UEFA's regulations, including UEFA's Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations - Five alleged breaches
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, Pep Guardiola, Football, UEFA, Champions League
Ryan Smart