Man City charges latest: City found guilty of majority of 115 financial rule breaches

Everton's sanction for financial rule breaches

Shamoon Hafez

Football reporter

Everton were the first Premier League club to be sanctioned for breaching the top-flight's financial rules in November 2023, deduced 10 points which was reduced to six on appeal.

It is understood the Toffees hierarchy will be curious observers to see the official outcome of City's case and how the independent panel came to their ruling.

In Everton's case, there were wide variations in ruling from their initial 10-point deduction, with a three-person appeal board concluding that the independent commission which imposed that penalty "made legal errors" on two grounds.

'The bragging rights will be turned back in their face'

Simon Bajkowski

Chief Manchester City reporter at the Manchester Evening News

On the one hand, there won't be anything today that takes away from the memories that Manchester City fans have had; winning those Premier League titles, the Champions League final, they will say they are our memories and you cannot take those away from us. And that will be true for Pep Guardiola and the players as well.

But from outside of the walls of Manchester City, everyone else will be saying 'you might think they're authentic, but they're not and we're not treating them as authentic'. So all of their success and all of the bragging rights that City fans have had for 10, 15 years will now be turned back in the face and said 'you did it illegally, you cheated, so it's not worth anything'. And that success will be disputed.

'You can't take away the moments that you have had'

BBC Radio 5 Live

Man City fan David Mooney from the Blue Moon podcast speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's a really weird feeling to process. It's been such a good time over this last 10 years or so, it questions your own experience.

"You can't take away the moments that you have had and the feelings that you experienced at the time but when you look back at them retrospectively and with a different lense, it does change how you feel about them.

"I'm a bit shocked and stunned about how to process it and I imagine as times goes on it will just come with a tinge of disappointment more than anything else.

"If we're talking small violins territory here, if Manchester City are guilty then the City fans are just as much the victims in this as everybody else because their feelings have been used as well. It's just that they had a good time for 10 years and now have to face reality."

What have Man City won during the seasons under scrutiny?

Manchester City

Manchester City won eight trophies in the period covered by the case (2009-2018), including three Premier League titles, three League Cups, one Community Shield and one FA Cup.

The 2010-11 FA Cup was City's first major trophy in 35 years, while the 2011-12 Premier League title was the first of eight they have won.

One allegation City faced was that they made secret 'off-the-books' payments to previous manager Roberto Mancini via consultancy fees from a club in Abu Dhabi. City and Mancini deny this.

City verdict took longer than expected - Masters

Last month, the Premier League's chief executive, Richard Masters, told BBC Sport that a verdict on the charges facing Manchester City had "taken longer than expected".

"It's hugely complex. The hearing took 12 weeks," added Masters.

Meanwhile, his counterpart at Arsenal, Richard Garlick, said all teams in the Premier League needed "clarity" on the situation.

"It's not something that I can speculate on," said Garlick. "I just hope that there is a solution very quickly."

'Rules are complicated and messy'

Kieran Maguire

Football finance expert on BBC 5 Live

Following the acquisition of Chelsea by Roman Abramovich and then Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour, we've seen similar, of course, with Paris Saint-Germain. The football authorities in both Europe and the Premier League itself didn't want somebody to be able to buy a title. They wanted some form of more level playing field. And that's why these rules were introduced.

They are complicated. They are messy. They have created a cottage industry in their own rights, but they have helped to reduce the ability of individuals or organisations to simply spend and not worry about the consequences.

Why has this case taken so long?

It has been more than three years since Manchester City were charged.

Since then clubs including Everton and Nottingham Forest have been charged with breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and received point deductions.

So why has City's case taken so much longer to resolve?

In short, the magnitude of the City case is vast compared to that of Everton and Forest. Essentially, they both stood accused of making losses greater than £150m over the course of a three-year period. Both were cut-and-dry cases to which their was little defence.

Meanwhile, City face over 115 charges covering several areas of financial regulations spanning a nine-year period. Some of the allegations, such as the Premier League's assertion that City disguised equity funding as sponsorship contributions, are far more complicated than simply spending too much.

What 'three elements' are Man City being accused of?

Kieran Maguire

Football finance expert on BBC News

We can broadly divide [what Man City are being accused of] in to three elements; first of all, an accusation of not complying with the Premier League investigation in to the club's finances.

Secondly, disguising money from the owners - which was effectively a gift from the owners - as sponsorship income. The reason that is important is because under the Premier League rules, clubs were only allowed to lose £115m over three years. By disguising money as sponsorship income, it helps to reduce the losses.

The third accusation is that individuals were being paid off-book. Effectively, an employee - that could be a manager or player - would have a contract to play for Manchester City, but there has also been accusations that they were also being paid by Abu Dhabi organisations which are indirectly or directly connected to the club owner. Therefore, this would reduce the costs and reduce the losses incurred.

'We're in uncharted territory'

Andy Swiss

Sports news correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live

This has been one of football's longest running sagas.

We're in uncharted territory. We need to emphasise if Manchester City have been found guilty of these charges - they have always strongly denied these charges.

The disciplinary panel has limitless powers. Would Manchester City get points deductions? Would they be kicked out of the Premier League? Would they get a huge fine? We simply don't know.

We are waiting for confirmation from either Manchester City or the Premier League that there has been an outcome to these charges.

More questions than answers

Shamoon Hafez

Manchester City reporter

Is the biggest cloud that has been lingering over Manchester City and the Premier League for over three years about to clear?

Well, not quite.

City say in a statement that the "process remains ongoing" but it is understood in the event of a defeat in the case, City will appeal against the findings.

We don't know how long this process would take.

In terms of sanctions, Everton and Nottingham Forest have been docked points in the past for breaching financial rules - would City receive a similar punishment?

Or could it be more severe such being stripped of some of the league titles they have won or even relegation to the Football League?

There are plenty of questions that will come up and this may drag on for a while yet.

'Other clubs will anticipate a points deduction or worse'

Kieran Maguire

Football finance expert on BBC News

I think the ramifications will be significant. It is very much a two-staged process. If we recall when Chelsea were found guilty of a significant number of charges by both the Premier League and the FA, their sanction was a fine, and that was something the club were happy to absorb.

I would imagine if Manchester City have been found guilty - and we are still waiting for conformation of that - they will be delighted if they are just given a fine. I expect that other clubs and most commentators anticipate some form of points deduction, if not worse.

Then, we move in to another phase, because we have recently seen that Everton have been fined £35m by a claim from Burnley. There could be a long series of litigation from clubs that feel they have been disadvantaged during the period when Manchester City were in breach of the rules.

What could the punishments be?

Dan Roan

BBC sports editor

Manchester City deny wrongdoing and insist they are innocent of all of these charges - but if they to be were to be found guilty on the most serious ones, we could be looking at a points dedication serious enough to relegate them or even perhaps expulsion from the Premier League.

Such a fate would stain their many achievements in recent years and would lead to great uncertainty over the future of the players. It may even spark compensation claims from rival clubs.

Equally, there would be questions asked of the Premier League if they lose and City prevail. It has already cost tens of millions of pounds from both sides in legal fees. Amid various other regulatory issues, this is the case the Premier League will feel they simply have to win.

'We don't know anything at the moment'

BBC Radio 5 Live

Man City fan David Mooney from the Blue Moon podcast speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's really strange. We just don't know anything at the moment about where this is going to go.

"On the one hand you've got this great enjoyment from the team you have supported all your life winning unprecedented success and playing football like we've never seen before, but having in the back of your mind that everybody thinks we have cheated to do this and everybody thinks this is illegitimate and that it hasn't been fairly achieved."

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