On Monday 17th September, the hearing began for Manchester City Football Club’s alleged 115 breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP). Manchester City have been alleged to have breached the Premier League’s FFP rules resulting in 115 charges being levied against them. These alleged breaches took place over nine years from 2009 until 2018. Throughout this process, Manchester City have denied all charges against them and has organised a strong legal team in order to provide a defence.
After several years of collating evidence, the hearing began yesterday and will continue for the next few months as both sides present their evidence. Whilst the hearing has now started, it is not expected that any findings from the independent commission will be heard until next spring and with the legal world’s proclivity for delay, there is a chance it could be even later than that. There is also a strong likelihood that should Manchester City be found guilty of any breaches that they would appeal any outcome, which could extend the process of punishment.
How did this case come about?
In 2018, a German outlet called Der Spiegel published a series of articles in which they had conducted an investigation which was based on the work of a Portuguese computer hacker Rui Pinto. Pinto had hacked into the email accounts of various football clubs and agents. UEFA then conducted their own investigation based on this. It was after this investigation that the Premier League announced in February 2023 that it was bringing a case as well.
What are the potential punishments?
There is much discourse on this, as the alleged breaches are on a scale that is unlike any other case previously brought forward. The main context we have is points deductions for Everton and Nottingham Forest, both of which were reduced following appeals. We also have the recent outcome of Leicester City managing to avoid a point deduction on a technicality. All of these incidents are related to single violations of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), whereas Manchester City are potentially dealing with 115, which is why the case has taken such a long time to begin. This means that their punishment could be anything from fines, points deductions, exclusion from certain competitions, relegation from the Premier League and maybe the scrapping of title wins from that period of which there were three. All of which could vary in severity depending on the scale of guilt.
The wider view
Lots of clubs will be watching very closely to see the outcome of this case, there are potential butterfly effects throughout the English Football world as a result of this. Manchester City are a successful club, who have won trophies in the period in which they are charged, that means teams lost out on winning titles, it means financial remuneration has been higher for them as a result of higher finishes in the league, where other clubs have lost out on money. There could be serious ramifications and further cases should the breaches be found to be true.
City’s Case
As mentioned, Manchester City have professed their innocence ever since their alleged breaches were made public and in their statement at the time said that:
“Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with,” they said in a statement at the time.
“The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.
“As such, we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”
They are also launching their own legal case against the Premier League for the tightening of the rules on associated party transactions (APT). APT is a mechanism that allows club owners to sponsor their teams through their other businesses. This allows the club more revenue to spend, making it easier to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which have plagued the league this year with Nottingham Forest and Everton being punished with points deductions for not complying. In their 165 page legal document, Manchester City claim to be victims of “discrimination”. They argue that the rules were approved by rivals to “stifle” their success, and call it “a tyranny of the majority”.
We’re in a holding pattern now until further details emerge from the hearing, but it seems a long series of legal cases are due to ensue regardless of the outcome.