An independent commission will examine, from Monday, the 115 accusations made by the Premier League against the English champion club, which is at great risk.
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An unprecedented legal battle in the sports field. This is how the British press describes this “trial of the century” between the Premier League and Manchester City, which begins on Monday, September 16. In a secret location, behind closed doors, an independent commission of three people – including a financial expert – is tasked with examining around a hundred potential infractions by the Sky Blues’ leaders.
Already fined €20 million by UEFA in 2014 for breaching financial fair play rules, Manchester City found itself in turmoil again after the “Football Leaks” a year later, which led to a review of European irregularities and this major Premier League investigation.
The Manchester club is thus accused of 115 offences, which are alleged to have been committed between 2009 and 2023. In detail, the Premier League accuses its reigning champion of 54 breaches of the obligation to provide accurate financial information (from 2009 to 2018), 14 breaches of the obligation to provide accurate information on player and manager payments (from 2009 to 2018), five breaches of UEFA rules, in particular concerning financial fair play (from 2013 to 2018), seven breaches of the Premier League’s rules on financial fair play (from 2015 to 2018), and 35 breaches of the obligation to cooperate with Premier League investigations (from 2018 to 2023).
In short, in its indictment, the Premier League accuses the Manchester leaders of not having given “a true and fair view of the club’s financial situation”for not having included “all the details” of the remuneration of players and managers, of not respecting the rules of financial fair play both at national and European level, and of not “cooperate with the Premier League in its investigations”According to the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), the club chaired by the Emirati Khaldoon Al Mubarak is the one that spent the most over the period 2012-20121, with a sum of 1.68 billion euros.
The club, which claims to be calm, has always denied the accusations. It has even “commended the impartial examination of all the irrefutable evidence that exists to support its position”. “It starts soon and I hope it ends soon. An independent panel will decide and I look forward to the decision.”added Citizens coach Pep Guardiola on Saturday, September 14, after the victory against Brentford.
The Independent Commission is expected to work on this case for at least two months before giving its verdict. And Manchester City is at great risk. The scale of sanctions is very broad, since according to the Premier League’s rule W.51, the commission can impose fines, deductions of points, but also suspend or exclude the club from the competition. It can also strip Manchester City of its titles. During the period in question, the Sky Blues won seven English league titles, six League Cups, three FA Cups and the Champions League.
The Independent Commission’s verdict will not necessarily signal the end of the “trial of the century”, since both parties will then have the possibility of appealing – which would mean a new decision at the end of 2025 – then resorting to an arbitration tribunal, or even, as a last resort, taking the case to the High Court. However, under the Premier League’s rules which prohibit it, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cannot take up the case.
The stakes are high for both sides. Manchester City hopes to win a legal victory to continue to exist at the highest level. The Premier League, for its part, cannot afford to lose this case, under penalty of further weakening its credibility, as it wants to clean up its clubs’ finances.