Whatever the outcome, the Premier League’s case of 115 charges against Manchester City promises to be a defining moment in the history of the competition, as well as in the wider landscape of sports governance.
Manchester City insist on their innocence, pointing to their exoneration at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020 as evidence.
The Premier League, however, have taken a huge gamble and would not have proceeded if they were not also confident of a positive verdict in the case.
To answer some of the most commonly asked questions about the case, we spoke to Adam Williams, TBR’s Head of Football Finance and Governance Content.
Here is everything you need to know about the 115 charges City face.
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How many times have Man City been charged?
The line from the Premier League has been that City have been charged with 115 offences,
although some legal experts have disputed this claim and suggest the true number is, in fact,
129.
In any case, the number of alleged offences, which are split into five categories over 13 years,
is largely inconsequential past a certain point.
Whether it is 115 or 129, it will not make a material impact on the outcome of the case.
What are the charges against Man City – is it FFP or not?
The majority of the charges levelled at City are not directly related to their compliance or
non-compliance with FFP/PSR.
Instead, they refer to provisions around financial accuracy (the validity of the data provided
to the Premier League by the club), manager and player remuneration (paying employees via
parallel contracts, etc.), and cooperation with the Premier League’s investigation.
However, there are alleged breaches as well. City are accused of exceeding the PSR/FFP
threshold nine times in 2015-16 and eight times per season between 2016-17 and 2017-18.
They have also been charged with breaching UEFA’s regulations five times.
When will Man City’s hearing for 115 charges take place?
City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023 and the case is finally set to begin.
The charges will be heard at an independent hearing, at an unknown location and, providing there no last-minute delays, will get underway on Monday, September 16.
The hearing is expected to last for 10 weeks and a verdict is currently expected in early 2025.
Can City appeal?
City can appeal the independent commission’s verdict. We saw this with Everton and
Nottingham Forest in 2023-24, with the former getting their punishment for breaching PSR
reduced.
However, unlike in 2020 when City took UEFA’s decision to suspend them from European
competition for two years and overturned it, the club cannot appeal to the Court of
Arbitration for Sport.
Why is Man City’s case taking so long?
Simply put, the case is taking so long because of its complexity.
The logistics of preparing defences for 100 charges of such a serious nature means that this
will not be a speedy process.
There will be a huge amount of financial data and legal documents exchanged, perhaps a
million pages worth.
Possible punishments if City are found guilty of charges
As has been well documented, Man City face expulsion from the Premier League if found
guilty.
In fact, most legal experts agree that relegation will be a foregone conclusion if that is
the case. To what level of the English pyramid is unclear.
They could also be stripped of their titles in the era during which the offences are alleged to
have taken place, as well as being handed a fine.
While City’s Abu Dhabi backers have the capital to ride out any financial repercussions, the
damage to their brand domestically and globally could potentially be irreparable.
Theoretically, however, there is a possibility that the case does not reach the hearing stage,
with the two parties instead reaching a settlement.
Man City legal team
City’s legal team is headed up by Lord David Pannick of Blackstone Chambers, the world-
renowned barrister and specialist in public law and human rights.
The lawyer, who was the subject of the ‘Pannick on the streets of London’ banner at the
Etihad Stadium, has previously represented Boris Johnson and Shamima Begum.
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What Man City and Pep Guardiola have said
In short, not much. City vehemently denied every charge levelled at them in a statement
published after the charges were disclosed by the Premier League.
As the public face of City in regular correspondence with media, Pep Guardiola has been the
most vocal about the charges, although obviously, he has been unable to offer much besides
reiterating City’s insistence on their innocence.
“My first thought is we’re already being condemned,” the manager said in February 2023.
“It’s the same with UEFA, we were already condemned. The club proved we were completely innocent. You know on what side I am.
“We are lucky we live in a country where everyone is innocent until proven guilty. It seems like we have already been sentenced. What is going to happen, I don’t know.
“We think we have good lawyers and I we are going to defend our position. Time will depend what happens. We will see what a judge, the Premier League decides. In the same way with Uefa, we are innocent.”
Speaking on September 13, 2023, Guardiola was asked about the upcoming hearing and said:
“For the first time I agree with Tebas.
“All the Premier League teams want us to be sanctioned, that is for sure. But that’s why I say to Mr Tebas and the Premier League teams, wait for the independent panel.
“Justice is there in a modern democracy. It’s not more complicated than that.
“I don’t know if he is a lawyer or the rest of the Premier League teams are lawyers, so I ask for that. It happened with Uefa.
“We believe we have not done anything wrong. It starts soon and hopefully finishes soon.
“An independent panel will decide and I am looking forward to the decision.
“I’m happy it’s starting on Monday. I know there will be more rumours, new specialists about the sentences.
“We’re going to see. I know what people are looking forward to, what they expect, I know, what I read for many, many years.
“Everybody is innocent until guilt is proven. So we’ll see.”
There is unlikely to be an official update from City until the case progresses further.
