New information about Manchester City's 115 charges has emerged nearly a year after the hearing with the Premier League concluded.
Back in February 2023, City were accused of 115 financial rule breaches from the Premier League - with a private hearing taking place in September 2024 and running through until December.
A three-person Independent Commission panel heard closing arguments from both sets of lawyers before dissecting evidence and making a decision on a verdict.
There were suggestions, including from Pep Guardiola that a decision would be released before the end of the 2024/25 season.
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However, the verdict has continued to be delayed and dragged on into the 2025/26 campaign - with leading sports lawyer Maxime van den Dijssel of Brandsmiths claiming that it is "common" for the process to take such a long time.
City, who have denied all charges and are "totally confident" of being proved innocent, had a separate legal battle with the Premier League over APT (Associated Party Transaction) rules which resulted in a settlement in September.
And in a new update, Miguel Delaney of The Independent claims that there are "growing murmurs" from senior figures that City's verdict could finally arrive this month.
Claiming that those in the game have referred to "the collapse of the Chinese espionage trial", Delaney wrote that there is now the feeling that the impact of what was poised to be a seminal moment in English football could be "significantly lessened".
If City were to be found guilty, it was speculated that possible punishments would include hefty fines and points deductions and there could even be complex compensation claims from as many as 29 clubs.
What are the 115 charges?
- Failure to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information from 2009/10 to and including 2017/18 - 54 alleged breaches
- Failure to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to 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
Though the APT rules case was not directly connected to the 115 charges,City were victorious in seven of their key arguments made in a 165-page legal document and three senior legal figures concluded that the rules were “void and unenforceable”.
They also ruled that he Premier League were wrong to block two of City's sponsorship deals - one of which was a lucrative renewal with Etihad Airways - after claiming they were not of "fair market value”.
A club challenging the Premier League legally had never happened before and City also argued that shareholder loans whereby club owners lend finances ,ought to viewed in the same light as APTs.
The two parties agreed to terminate proceedings without a tribunal and any additional legal fees, putting out near-identical statements.
City, who recently inked a £1 billion deal with Puma, accepted the APT rules introduced are "valid and binding".
The 115 case is completely separate though and those involved have been described as having been "locked away”.
The report claimed that some companies have been hesitant to pen a deal with City because of the case not yet reaching an outcome - though if recent noises are anything to go by - October could be the month of judgement day.
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League
Josh Lawless