Premier League champions Manchester City’s long-standing troubles on the pitch this season could become trivial in the coming weeks if an independent commission rules the club has breached a number of financial regulations.
Manchester City’s unexpected collapse on the pitch almost cost Guardiola’s team their bid for a fifth consecutive title, and they were even in danger of exiting the Champions League in the first stage.
While the form is temporary and repairable, bigger, darker clouds are already hanging over an Abu Dhabi club that has amassed a raft of trophies and become a dominant force in English football over the past decade.
Three judges appointed by the independent chair of the Premier League’s judicial panel spent more than two months hearing evidence and submissions on 115 charges brought against Manchester City two years ago.
City have always denied any wrongdoing and said in a submission to the Premier League’s independent committee that it was surprised the league “published these alleged breaches”.
All eyes will now be on the verdict, which is expected to be handed down soon, on how severe the punishment might be if City are found guilty of the most serious charges against them.
While Everton and Nottingham Forest both breached the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability (PSR) rules last season and were duly docked points, the allegations against Manchester City are in a different league both in terms of severity and duration.
Multiple allegations were made from 2009 to 2022-23, but arguably the most damaging is that from 2009-10 to 2017-18, the club failed to provide accurate financial information to “truly and fairly reflect “Revenue, including sponsorship and operating costs.
Manchester City denies the accusations and has hired a crack team of lawyers to fight the case.
“Is the money coming from the owners who they pretend to be coming from the sponsors? If so, it’s fraud. That’s about as serious as it gets,” Kieran Maguire, football finance expert and author of The Price of Football said. overlapping.
FILE PHOTO: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola looks frustrated after West Ham United’s Niklas Forkrug scored his first goal in the Premier League. |Image source: Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola looks frustrated after West Ham United’s Niklas Forkrug scored his first goal in the Premier League. |Image source: Reuters
If City are found guilty of some or all of the charges, penalties could range from hefty fines, huge point deductions, stripping of the title, or even expulsion from the Premier League.
While relegation or expulsion from the Premier League is probably the least likely outcome, City may actually be relegated if they suffer an unprecedented points deduction (some reports speculate it could exceed 60 points).
Dan Plumley, a football finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “If they are found guilty, I think number one, no one should really benchmark Everton and Forest against them, certainly if we’re talking about deductions. points as a potential penalty,” told Reuters.
“These were relatively straightforward PSR breaches over a three-year period and were dealt with accordingly, so I think trying to apply multiplier points on this is completely futile.”
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Plumley believes it is unlikely City will be stripped of any Premier League titles they won during the allegations and said the possibility of the incident continuing through the appeals process, throwing the end of the season into chaos, is worrying.
“It was the Premier League’s discretion whether to go that route and my view is that I thought it always seemed unlikely,” he said. “Go back and cancel it retrospectively. You have a lot of other factors to consider and it’s not as simple as handing it to the next ranked team, which creates a series of permutations.”
The Premier League is considered one of the best-run and most successful competitions in world sport, and Manchester City have become a benchmark of excellence in many ways since Guardiola instilled his magical brand of football.
The most pessimistic City fans will console themselves with Guardiola’s vow that he will stay, whatever the fate of the club.
Owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Haldou Al Mubarak have been basking in glory for a decade, but the conviction and attendant punishment that will leave City’s hierarchy is another question entirely.
