PL charge City for alleged breaches of financial rules

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One charge could cost Everton 12 points but Premier League remain quiet on Manchester City’s 115​

It seems unthinkable the Premier League would not have something even more severe for City if they are found to have breached FFP

ByTom Morgan, SPORTS NEWS CORRESPONDENT25 October 2023 • 9:01pm

A chill wind appeared to be sweeping east along the M62 as Everton face the prospect of a potential 12-point deduction if their innocent pleas fall flat.
“What about Manchester City,” came cries by the thousand as Telegraph Sport reported the Premier League is pushing for a brutal outcome against the already troubled Toffees. This publication’s columnist, Jamie Carragher, joined the chorus, joking that “City are going to end up in the National League North if the PL get their way.”
The noise around City had “gone very quiet”, he added, drawing comparison to the storm around Everton as the club appears before an independent panel.

Inevitable comparisons reflect the feelings of many within Premier League boardrooms, who regularly question privately the speed with which City are being brought to court.
But those closest to the process say drawing parallels between the two cases is futile. Both will finally test the fortitude of the English top tier’s profit and sustainability rules for the first time. But the cases themselves are incomparable in scope, simplicity and timescale, insiders with knowledge of the cases.
Both clubs deny breaching financial fair play rules, but Everton’s case, unlike City’s, was all-but-ready to be heard when charges were announced in March. The assessment period for Everton is the three year term ending 2021-22 and reportedly relates to a tax issue surrounding loans for the club’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Such claims will be pretty straightforward to iron out either way in contrast with the 100-plus occasions in which City are alleged to have broken the rules over multiple financial cycles. For City, if they were all proven, they would amount to the greatest offences committed by a club in the history of the competition. Charges include failing to “include full details” of player and manager remuneration, failing to comply with rules regarding financial fair play and failing to cooperate in a Premier League investigation that had concluded after more than four years. The financial charges cover the period 2009-2018 alone.

But while the treble winners were charged a month before Everton, any sort of verdict for City could remain years away. As they were accused of failing to give “a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”, no date was given for when they would appear before an independent commission appointed by the chair of the Premier League judicial panel, Murray Rosen KC.
Even now it is not clear and some estimate it will be beyond next season before the saga is resolved, with legal teams still being assembled ahead of a battle royal.

However, in calling for Everton to face a potential 12-point ban, it seems unthinkable that the Premier League would not have something even more severe for City in mind.
The independent commission which will consider the charges could, according to handbook guidelines, recommend that City be expelled from the competition, suspended or docked points if it finds the club guilty. In fact, a commission is clear to apply any punishment it considers appropriate.
When it eventually comes to it, the stakes are significantly higher for City. At Everton, 777 are understood to have factored in potential relegation this season, with charges known when the American firm tabled their offer to Farhad Moshiri.
For City, however, defeat is unfathomable. Last May, the manager, Pep Guardiola, suggested he would leave if he felt the hierarchy had lied to him. “When they are accused of something I ask them: ‘Tell me about that,’” he said. “They explain and I believe them. I said to them: ‘If you lie to me, the day after I am not here. I will be out and I will not be your friend any more. I put my faith in you because I believe you 100% from day one and I defend the club because of that.’”
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But there are hundreds of thousands more pages of paperwork to be worked through before such matters are pondered. City have already overturned a Uefa Champions League ban, winning an appeal via the court of arbitration for sport on the basis of claims being time-barred.
Since the Football Leaks hack in 2018 which were said to show that City had inflated the value of sponsorship deals from Abu Dhabi companies, City have always vociferously denied any wrongdoing. “The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position,” the club said. “As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”
City will be following Everton’s outcome as closely as anyone, but attempting to draw any conclusions from it in terms of their own fate will be pointless.

Ffs repeating the garbage about the CAS verdict hinging on accusations being ‘time barred’ . Then again as per the rest of the article it’s all utter garbage

 

[dadnlad]

well well carragher has had his say just wait till sunday and neville gets on his soap box to the nation who'll cop it depends on result but im sure 115 charges will be aired along with the glazers

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Sooner sky lose tv rights deal, the better. That would be fair play.

You realise the pundits just end up at the next provider?

 

[homerdog]

It's obvious that TomMorgan is a rag, just look at all the stories he's written about Ratcliffe's takeover. Just another media shill, paid to peddle shit about us that nobody actually bothers to read.

 

[Man_City_Loyal]

Look at the state of his profile pic, looks like a right pervert. Is there a dating website for people who like to spit on each other?

you not see what he looked like on tuesday night on his Champs League show, looked more like Saville.

 

[Iassel]

Any decent ex player/proffesional wouldd be callimg out the financial regs for the shitshow they are rather than using them to troll

Why would you expect former players to be experts on footballs financial rules? Most of these guys left school at 16 to be footballers and played more football even then than studying.

We haven't been charged with anything yet ffs

Eh…City have been charged with 115 offences - the club hasn’t been found guilty of anything yet.

 

[Claytop]

The Telegraph getting giddy. It's 'inconceivable' that we wouldn't receive a far more severe punishment than Everton might if found guilty. It references punishment up to and including expulsion from the PL. Obviously that is about a remote possibility as you can imagine but *if* it happened then the club is essentially homeless and then it would have to find a starting point that would accept us. On that basis Spitty is correct insomuch as the National League could be it. Should be fun :)

You would probably need a subscription but this is the article

One charge could cost Everton 12 points but Premier League remain quiet on Manchester City’s 115

It seems unthinkable the Premier League would not have something even more severe for City if they are found to have breached FFP

www.telegraph.co.uk

'City have already overturned a Uefa Champions League ban, winning an appeal via the court of arbitration for sport on the basis of claims being time-barred.'

If they can't be bothered to get the basics right then what's the point in listening to any other part of it.

 

[Centurions]

You need an account to read replies etc....without one you'll only see that specific "tweet"

I have an account but its blank and i never post or reply, just use it to be able read things posted on here :-)

The downside of that is that you can read the replies.

You don't need an account to see the initial tweet on here which is enough for me, it's such a toxic environment. I'm watching with interest the many class lawsuits in the States against the social media platforms for affecting children's mental health (brought by most of the individual states BTW).

 

[nmc]

The narrative around Everton is a disgrace and proves beyond doubt the need for an independent regulator. How can the FA appoint an independent panel and then be quoted across the media calling for a specific punishment. If any of the independent panel have anything about them they should resign because they look like the stooges that they clearly are. I already had serious misgivings about us getting a fair hearing - I’d now say it’s almost impossible. The one hope is that we may be able to use the FAs process with Everton to discredit the FA and demonstrate that their internal process is neither objective nor fair. Everton’s lawyers must be getting stuck into the FA - no other legal proceedings could proceed in the midst of such a media witch-hunt.

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

'City have already overturned a Uefa Champions League ban, winning an appeal via the court of arbitration for sport on the basis of claims being time-barred.'

If they can't be bothered to get the basics right then what's the point in listening to any other part of it.

The story states “if City have breached FFP” but the PL case is not about FFP regulations. The accusation is false accounting and the Mancini allegation pre-dates FFP. The writer has no idea what he is writing about.