Hands up anyone who knows what happens now that Manchester City have reportedly been found guilty of nearly all of their 115 alleged breaches of Premier League rules. It is tempting to think that the good guys have won, justice done, and the football cheats put in their place. Well, hold that thought, because this saga still has some way to run.
This explosive and controversial case has been conducted in private, with all involved sworn to secrecy, and there is much that remains unknown. There has been no official confirmation of the verdict, but nor has there been any denial of the widespread reports. The legal process is believed to have racked up costs in excess of £100 million pounds so far. And City, for the record, continue to maintain their innocence, with the club insisting it has ‘irrefutable evidence’ to disprove the charges.
Even so, the ‘verdict’ has not come a moment too soon, with the Premier League coming under mounting pressure for the time it has taken. It is now almost eight years since officials first launched an investigation into the alleged rule breaches. City were initially charged by the Premier League in February 2023 with 115 breaches of its financial rules after a four-year investigation that began back in December 2018. The charges over financial reporting relate to nine seasons, from 2009-10 to 2017-18, and include: not providing accurate financial information, not disclosing full details of the manager Roberto Mancini’s pay over the four seasons he was at the club from 2009-13, and not providing full details of players’ remuneration.
What happens now? The sanctions have not been decided, with all possibilities on the table, and City are widely expected to appeal. The next step would be for the independent commission to hold a sanctions hearing, at which both the Premier League and City can make representations. Once the outcome of that hearing is decided, City and the Premier League can both lodge appeals if they wish. In other words, more delay, more interminable wrangling, and still no definitive resolution in sight. Can anyone bear much more of this?
Most popular
Jay Bhattacharya and Matthew J. Memoli
How we cured DEI at the National Institutes of Health
It should be stated that, if City managed to overturn the verdict, there would of course be no sanction. The question of potential punishments is far from straightforward. The club could be expelled from the Premier League. That would certainly send a strong message but no one should put their money on that definitely happening. City are currently top of the league under their new manager, Enzo Maresca, with some of the league’s most high profile players including Erling Haaland. It could prompt an exodus of stars that the Premier League can ill afford right now. What would the league’s all-important TV paymasters – the people who write the cheques for the fantastic sums on offer in the modern game – think of City being kicked out? Lesser punishments include heavy points deductions ( immediate or suspended) and financial penalties ( immediate or suspended).
There is also what is described as the nuclear option of stripping the club of its Premier League titles – those won in the seasons when they breached the rules – but that would open up a Pandora’s box of further consequences with impact far beyond any one club. It could open the way for City’s rivals to claim hundreds of millions in compensation. Four clubs – Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur – served legal notices on City in 2024 reserving the right to seek compensation if the club were found guilty of serious charges.
Cheating is an obvious red line in any sport, eating at the heart of any claims it has to integrity. But there are clearly enormous wider consequences to this verdict, some of which may not have been thought through clearly. City have won eight Premier League titles, seven League Cups and one Champions League, under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour, whose Abu Dhabi United Group bought the club in 2008. The cheating allegations, over such a long period of sporting success, make a mockery of the game’s biggest prizes. It leaves in tatters the Premier League’s claim to be the ‘best league in the world’. Manchester City, if and when they are taken down, will have damaged the reputation of the sport in ways that may well prove beyond repair.
Comments