Manchester City’s fate is set to be sealed by the end of the year with a new time frame for the independent panel’s verdict on their 115 charges set.
The defending champions have been embroiled in a legal battle with the Premier League for some time now and things are finally starting to heat up. City are accused of breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations over a nine-year span, starting in 2009 with the takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group and continuing until 2018.
Txiki Begiristain’s announced departure as director of football at the end of the season has led to speculation that City could face serious sanctions. With boss Pep Guardiola now in the final year of his contract, a guilty verdict could provide him with the perfect out – although he could equally decide to stick with the club through difficult times. City of course, deny any wrongdoing.
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In truth, it’s hard to predict what will happen, but we now have some clarity on when a decision will be made. A recent deep dive from The Athletic on City’s changes behind the scenes revealed a decision from the independent panel on the charges hanging over the club is expected by the end of the year – not next spring as had been anticipated.
It comes days after City proclaimed they had scored a victory of sorts over the Premier League in a separate battle relating to inflated sponsorship deals. Only for the Premier League to counter that most of City’s challenges on that matter had been rejected.
(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
The hearing officially began on September 16 and the club could face possible relegation if they are found guilty. Points deductions and fines could also happen if they are found to have breached the rules, with any football-related punishment likely to come into effect next season.
Initially, City were charged with 54 instances of failing to provide accurate financial data from 2009/10 to 2017/18. They also allegedly failed to provide precise details about player and manager payments on 14 occasions from 2009/10 to 2017/18. In addition, City face five charges related to their alleged failure to adhere to UEFA’s regulations, including financial fair play (FFP), from 2013/14 to 2017/18.
Seven more charges are for claims they broke the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015/16 to 2017/18, while the remaining 35 charges are linked to allegations of not cooperating with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to February 2023.