PL charge City for alleged breaches of financial rules

Dribble said:
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So here's a strange thing... A UK Lawyer said that the PL state in their memorandums of articles & association that they operate in accordance with UK Law. However, a statute of limitations of 6 months for minor criminal offences, & 6 years for civil, contract & debt cases exists in UK Law.

The only area where there's no statute of limitations, is for serious criminal offences typically tried at the Crown Court.

The Lawyer then said, at best he believes the PL adjudication panel can only go back to offences committed from 2017 onwards. Anything prior to this is time barred in UK Law.

Now this doesn't mean the PL can't go back pre-2017 in their own internal processes, but what it does mean is if City appeal the process in a civil court, the court will only consider evidence post February 2017.

From my understanding, most of what we're charged with is pre-2017, so would be thrown out if we appealed the process used in a UK Court of Law.

I was hearing so many scenarios at first, that I thought the PL had charged us, & were seeking the evidence to support their accusations, but that's definitely not the case.

The PL have charged us, disclosed their evidence to City & given it to the PL Adjudication panel to consider ahead of a hearing.

City have disclosed our evidence, & are now waiting for the hearing date, & that's where things get a bit odd. If the PL have charged us & disclosed their evidence to us & their panel, why all the estimates the whole process could take up to four years?

I get there are thousands of pages of documents & witness testimonies, but surely it can be resolved before then?

There are new claims the case will be heard commencing September 2024, with a verdict being reached by summer 2025, notwithstanding any delays.

City maintain we have irrefutable evidence & are confident of our innocence. As you say, many of the charges have already been heard & dismissed by CAS, so the reason this has all resurfaced is because of the Der Spiegel "evidence" which was gained through hacking.

We were also sanctioned by UEFA in 2014 for the majority of these charges, so it's difficult to see how the PL can charge us again.

We submit our financial reports to the PL, & they submit them to UEFA. The PL are seemingly claiming this constitutes two sets of breaches, because if we've lied to UEFA, we've defacto lied to the PL too. But what about the double jeopardy of being charged twice for the same alleged breaches? ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠⊙⁠_⁠ʖ⁠⊙⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Again, there's the lawful reporting of a crime. If the PL believe we've committed accounting fraud, they're duty bound by law to alert the authorities, whereby it'll become a criminal matter.

None of this has happened, because if they were to make this move, it would drag our auditors, sponsors, the Abu Dhabi Government & the Abu Dhabi Royal Family into the equation, which at the very least would cause a diplomatic incident, whereby the UK would be accusing Abu Dhabi of being fraudsters & crooks.

After rowing back on a 2021 investment commitment to the UK because of the mess caused by Doris & Truss, Sunak was seen as a steadying hand & Grant Schapps got the investment deal back on track, but at a reduced initial £10bn.

The Tories are desperate for this investment, so you can imagine their rage when the PL reared its turkey head with talk of charging us on the instructions of the Hateful Eight.

The Abu Dhabi investment deal was resurrected in January 2023. A month later the government gave the PL notice of an Independent Regulator for Football. The PL obviously panicked, & three days later City were charged.

The UK Government has bigger fish to fry, & too much to lose just to placate the Red Top Mafia & Spuds over trumped up football related charges.

Given the latest date for a General Election is January 28th 2025, the Tories will want Abu Dhabi's investment on their balance sheet, so they can justify tax cut bribes for their mates.

I very much doubt they'll allow FFP to hinder their re-election bid in any way shape or form. To qualify this, the Independent Regulator of Football will be setup in shadow form before 2024, & because it was in the King's Speech, it will be enacted BEFORE the next election.

Government ministers have already said they'll act retrospectively in the interests of the game, so quite how this will effect the PL's frivolous charges against us, remains of great interest.

The Government's wording & comments surrounding this seem to suggest, they're stepping in to take control of English & Welsh football, lock, stock & two smoking barrels.

City seem relaxed & confident about the charges. The PL seem to be shitting themselves & confused as what to do next.

The last time football authorities fucked with City, Platini & Blatter were arrested, charged, found guilty & banned from football.

Then on UEFA's behalf, the PL chose to pick a fight with us, & they've gone on to lose regulatory control of their Premier League cash cow. Coincidence? \0/

By unfairly pursuing City, the PL have inadvertently killed the goose that lays their gold eggs. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠⊙⁠_⁠ʖ⁠⊙⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Whatever will be will be, but after initially being calm over the situation, then extremely worried, I've taken proper stock & now I'm very relaxed about the whole matter. Our owner & Khaldoon have got this.

Man City and the Premier League agree date for trial https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12809173/Man-City-Premier-League-agree-date-tribunal-financial-rule-break-charges.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton
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While I don’t necessarily agree with every word, it about sums up my own position on this, which is why I think Khaldoon basically said he’s biting his tongue for now, but will have plenty to say thereafter!

Looking forward to that statement!!
 
Dribble said:
Where do you differ mate?
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I think the concerns about it dragging on are based on legal challenges to any sanctions which may be forthcoming from the evidence presented, hence the longer time estimates from some.

I also don’t know, and thus can’t support or refute, the coincidences and/or timelines associated with the internal political machinations surrounding the elections in the UK.

Additionally, I think our case can stand on its own merits without needing Abu Dhabi to leverage their diplomatic or state relationships with the U.K., which looks, at first blush, to almost be an admission of “probably guilty, but will get away with it, because of influence.” I don’t like that look.
 
ChicagoBlue said:
I think the concerns about it dragging on are based on legal challenges to any sanctions which may be forthcoming from the evidence presented, hence the longer time estimates from some.

I also don’t know, and thus can’t support or refute, the coincidences and/or timelines associated with the internal political machinations surrounding the elections in the UK.

Additionally, I think our case can stand on its own merits without needing Abu Dhabi to leverage their diplomatic or state relationships with the U.K., which looks, at first blush, to almost be an admission of “probably guilty, but will get away with it, because of influence.” I don’t like that look.
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I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I do pay particular attention to patterns, frequencies & coincidences.

Until an official date for the hearing is announced, I suppose everything is hearsay. However, a date of next September sounds about right, which gives the adjudication panel ample time to get familiar with the particulars of the case.

Agreed, time to review the charges, evidence & any resultant appeals could easily add up to the speculated four year process, & if we appeal the process to the UK civil courts, it could take even longer.

However, in terms of the coincidences & UK/Abu Dhabi governmental involvement, I believe they've zero bearing on the strength or weakness of our defence.

Neither UEFA or The Premier League have been playing straight with us from the outset. It's been move & counter move, as they tried to strangle Sheikh Mansour's Manchester City at birth, & we've attempted to find ways around them halting our progress.

If FFP hadn't been created to stop us, none of this would be happening, but it is what it is. We did what we did to progress, & had our interim accounts agreed in March 2013 with UEFA.

We submitted our full audited accounts a month later, by which time UEFA had shifted their monitoring period back by 12 months without telling us, meaning we went from being £3m inside FFP to being £3 outside, with the resultant punitive punishments & sanctions. Khaldoon was livid!

He said then that City would take 'a pinch' this time, but the next time UEFA came after us, rather than pay a £30m fine, we'd spend £30m on the world's finest Lawyers & splatter them!

Months later Platini & Blatter were arrested by the FBI for fraud involving the use of US dollars, which I found seriously odd.

Then the PL come after City on UEFA's behalf. Abu Dhabi pulls its £10bn UK investment. The UK Government manages to revive the deal, but a month later & out of the Blue, they tell the PL they're setting up an independent football regulator.

Three days later the PL charge City. Nine months later, the Independent Regulator is included in the King's Speech, meaning it's part of the Government's business before the next election.

Personally, I think the timing of all of this is more than sheer coincidence. As for our innocence or guilt, we already know we won't get a fair hearing with UEFA or the PL, so as Khaldoon said in 2014, if they came after us again, this time it'll be with our gloves off, & it seems that exactly what's happened mate.
 
Dribble said:
So here's a strange thing... A UK Lawyer said that the PL state in their memorandums of articles & association that they operate in accordance with UK Law. However, a statute of limitations of 6 months for minor criminal offences, & 6 years for civil, contract & debt cases exists in UK Law.

The only area where there's no statute of limitations, is for serious criminal offences typically tried at the Crown Court.

The Lawyer then said, at best he believes the PL adjudication panel can only go back to offences committed from 2017 onwards. Anything prior to this is time barred in UK Law.

Now this doesn't mean the PL can't go back pre-2017 in their own internal processes, but what it does mean is if City appeal the process in a civil court, the court will only consider evidence post February 2017.

From my understanding, most of what we're charged with is pre-2017, so would be thrown out if we appealed the process used in a UK Court of Law.
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Pretty sure this is incorrect. If fraud/concealment is proved then the statute of limitations doesn't apply.
 
tolmie's hairdoo said:
The Saudis now have the perfect leverage.

Admit our clubs into the Champions League or we simply go all golf and bankroll a separate comp under this Super League guise.

People rubbished the golf breakaway but with Real Madrid and Barca on board, the Saudis will consider it a risk worth paying.
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The difference being is the fans who're emotionally attached to their clubs.

Golf like boxing, snooker, darts etc is essentially one bloke versus another.

The Saudis would have to get national associations on board to make it work, & then there's the issue of UEFA & FIFA banning ESL players from their competitions, including the Euro's, Olympics & the World Cup.

Personally I can't see a takeover of global football being as easy as LIV Golf's disruption of the PGA Golf tours.
 
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