PL charge City for alleged breaches of financial rules

[Ric]

Interesting article in 14th April Sunday Times Business Section - featuring Alberto Galassi (CEO of Ferretti) who's a non-exec director of City football Group - when questioned about the charges he says "I am not entitled to discuss this, but perhaps you can tell from my body language I am super confident (about the outcome)"

Feels like this went a bit unnoticed at the time, but I actually think this might be the most interesting insight that we’ve had since the charges were announced last year. There have been very few leaks, from either side, but for a board member of the club to openly say this in an interview with a mainstream newspaper feels significant. There was absolutely no ambiguity in what he said.

 

[decmancity]

I don’t understand why the club didn’t brief something like this through the usual channels 18 months ago.

Some sections of the press have been saying wildly incorrect things about the case and voicing some very prejudicial opinions that have shaped the way the general public think about the case. Theres been no attempt at a counter narrative.

They always seem very passive when dealing with all the post-leak charges.

Let them keep digging their own graves. Then we finish them in one fell swoop. Its not exactly had any impact on us has it.

 

[Gaylord du Bois]

I don’t understand why the club didn’t brief something like this through the usual channels 18 months ago.

Some sections of the press have been saying wildly incorrect things about the case and voicing some very prejudicial opinions that have shaped the way the general public think about the case. Theres been no attempt at a counter narrative.

They always seem very passive when dealing with all the post-leak charges.

Why would we want to get into a slanging match ?
What's to gain, from giving our opponent any opportunity to land a blow ?
We've played the long game and if it ain't over we'll keep playing it.
Keeping our counsel and keeping our powder dry.
What was it Napoleon said about when the enemy is making mistakes...?
Or something like that.

 

[cheekybids]

Interesting. If that was offered and rejected in 2019, the PL would presumably have to offer something better.

A fine for non-cooperation, maybe, with no acceptance of guilt on anything else (assuming the club didn't fully cooperate according to the rules, about which I am still not convinced, tbh).

"Resolve itself" was certainly unusual terminology.

There’s no way City should accept non-cooperation. It needs to be a neatly crafted statement by the premier league apologising for the brand damage caused.

 

[Rory Bluelow]

Don King if I’m not much mistaken. One of his pithier remarks!

“Never give a sucker an even break” was W C Fields

 

[I'm no cynic but...]

Why would we want to get into a slanging match ?
What's to gain, from giving our opponent any opportunity to land a blow ?
We've played the long game and if it ain't over we'll keep playing it.
Keeping our counsel and keeping our powder dry.
What was it Napoleon said about when the enemy is making mistakes...?
Or something like that.

Napoleon lost...

 

[argyle]

I`ve been saying this for ages. When either City win or lose we need to get all the shit on these cunts and destroy them all financially.

The club won't be destroying them all financially.

Maybe some more prominant outlets could be sued but the liklihood is City doing things behind the scenes, showing organisations/individuals that we could sue them and hit them financially but would use that threat to stop the negative reporting on us.

 

[r.soleofsalford]

The club won't be destroying them all financially.

Maybe some more prominant outlets could be sued but the liklihood is City doing things behind the scenes, showing organisations/individuals that we could sue them and hit them financially but would use that thread to stop the negative reporting on us.

Wheres the fun in that

 

[KS55]

The hearing may not have been held, but evidence disclosure between both parties will have long since taken place.

The crucial thing here is the courts prefer both sides to hammer out the parts they agree on so they can be removed from the pleadings. If both sides still can't reach a pre-hearing settlement, it's only then you attend court to argue the irreconcilable differences.

Now our hearing isn't a legal proceeding, but if the IC are Barristers, I assume they'll follow the accepted way disputes are conducted & resolved in law. It's done this way to save on court time & costs.

If a settlement can be reached prior to the court date & the burden of costs agreed, this generally suits everyone all round without the need for a costly, time-consuming hearing.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that this is what's happened. Masters maybe a fuckin dick & patsy for the Red Top Mafia & Spuds, but I doubt he's that much of an arse as to come out in public & state:

"We can’t comment on the case, the date is set. The case will resolve itself at some point in the near future."

After being pressed on whether it would be “damaging” for City to be crowned champions of England for a second time since the matter was referred to an independent commission, Masters went on to say:

"It's not for football authorities to start selecting who they would like to win the league. The key point is that you’ve got that jeopardy until the final day. Who knows where we’ll be on May 19?"

It's my personal feeling that the IC has possibly let it be known that if this were in the Civil or Law Courts, the accusations would be thrown out considering the poor level of accusation evidence offered, & the irrefutable level of defence evidence offered.

Masters sounds like a man who just wanted a cushy job without all this bollocks, but who's now looking for an honourable way out without the PL losing face.

Too fuckin late dude. The Cartel Clubs allowed their utter hatred of City to get in the way of commonsense reality. This is their mess & it's up to them to get on their knees & clean it up.

They've accused City of mass fraud over an extended period of time in all but name & have fuck all provable evidence to back it up outside of their private members kangaroo court.

They've painted themselves into a corner, with no obvious way out. In this respect, the PL are no different to General Melchett in the case of Speckled Jim...

Reminds me of that great line in “Z”. When asked if the guilty verdict was a “miscarriage of justice, like the Dreyfus case” the colonel replied: “Dreyfus was guilty.”

 

[KS55]

Thanks for posting that snippet.

Here is the extract:

At Piaggio, where he climbed from the sales and marketing departments to became chief executive in 2009, Galassi became close friends with the future Manchester City chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who led Abu Dhabi’s investment in the aerospace company in 2006.

Al Mubarak appointed Galassi to the board of Man City as a non-executive director in 2012. Despite the team’s success on the pitch, the club has been charged with 115 breaches of financial fair play regulations. “I am not entitled to discuss this, but perhaps you can tell from my body language I am super confident [about the outcome],” he says.

Crack out the champagne blues. Once we are cleared I genuinely believe we will break the internet and any red **** still breathing will be looking for a hole to crawl into.

He may be super confident for no other reason than he trusts Khaldoon’s word.