In the event that Manchester City is found guilty of all 115 charges that they have filed with the Premier League, a financial expert has made a significant assertion regarding the potential punishment that they could face.
City was accused of 115 violations of financial rules by the Premier League in February 2023. Prior to the two parties engaging in a legal battle, which is currently awaiting an official verdict, the Premier League presented City with the allegations.
December marked the conclusion of the case, and the outcome is currently being decided by a panel consisting of three members of the Independent Government Commission.
The charges against City are related to alleged violations of Premier League financial rules that occurred over a period of nine years, beginning in 2009 and ending in 2018. David Ornstein of The Athletic has stated that the Premier League champions are “totally confident they will be exonerated and prove their innocence.” The club has always been adamant in their denial of any and all changes.
With regard to the potential consequences that could be imposed in the event that they are found guilty, it is asserted that the commission would have the authority to reduce the number of points they receive.
Kieran McGuire, however, believes that City’s separate and more complex case would require a much heavier sanction that would effectively relegate them to a lower division. This is because he has read the commission reports from the cases with Everton and Nottingham Forest, which resulted in both teams losing points.
During an interview on The Overlap, McGuire responded, “It will be,” when asked if City would be likely to lose points if they were found guilty.
The tariffs that were established by the commissions from both Everton and Forest determine the path that will be taken. It would be pointless to penalise a billionaire owner with a few pounds because there would be no incentive for them to behave inappropriately.
If you read the commission reports, which are probably about as exciting as watching Brighton play Forest over the weekend, you will find that both of them state that these were minor violations of the rules. If you read them from cover to cover, you will find that they both do this.
In addition, Manchester City is being accused of engaging in corporate fraud over the course of almost a decade with this accusation. In the event that you are guilty, you are required to append a zero to the points that have been deducted from Forest and Everton.
“If not guilty, there’s going to be a lot of trouble.”
McGuire has stated in the past that in the event that City were to lose the case, there would be “very narrow grounds for appeal,” and they would need to determine that the “conduct of the committee itself was unprofessional in some way.”
May I enquire about the 115 charges?
The failure to provide financial information that is accurate and up to date from 2009-2010 to 2017-2018, including the current year, is the subject of 54 alleged breaches.
The failure to cooperate with investigations conducted by the Premier League between December 2018 and February 2023, which resulted in 35 alleged violations
There have been 14 alleged violations of the agreement regarding the failure to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation from 2009/2010 right up until 2017/2018.
Between the years 2015–2016 and 2017–2018, there were seven alleged violations of the regulations governing the profitability and sustainability of the Premier League business.
There have been five alleged violations of UEFA’s regulations, including those pertaining to club licensing and financial fair play. Failure to comply with UEFA’s regulations
In addition, McGuire stated, “In the end, there will be a penalty, and the commission will be the one to decide what that penalty will be.”
“I think the one concern people have is what happens if City are found innocent of the accusations of inflating money coming into the club and paying players off book but they’ve been found guilty of not cooperating with the Premier League, in which case they’ll get a fine because that’s what UEFA did.”
As a result of his conversations with various individuals, Matt Hughes, who formerly worked for The Times, has asserted that “there seems to be no appetite” for retrospective punishment. This indicates that it is highly unlikely that City will be stripped of any Premier League titles following a conviction.
Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has already confirmed that he will remain in his current position, and he recently signed a new two-year contract extension. The verdict will have a monumental impact on English football regardless of the outcome.
xz
