PL charge City for alleged breaches of financial rules

LeonardoDaVnci said:
Excellent imagineering there, however that scenarlo would cause one hell of a shit storm, questions in the house, no less. I notice @slbsn has not been on to quote his itk source with "as of last Friday. the club have heard nothing"...
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Don't question his wild theories ffs. He'll only double down and then before you know it he'll be telling us he 'heard it' from his top people at the club mysterious sources. Just smile and wave.
 
There would at the very least need to be a joint statement that the charges have been dropped and will not be revisited or discussed further.

Khaldoon promised he would talk about the charges at the appropriate time. That may well be to just say we fought our corner and won, showed no wrongdoing, but he will speak on the matter when he can, he has to.

To an extent, city can't ever win in the wider world opinion, because we're dealing with the flat earthers of the football world - those who have a base desire to see us put down due to rivalry and jealousy. Carragher, as an example, is never going to offer a fair and insightful edict on the situation, because we hurt him, we denied him success. Show him a picture of the globe, he'll say it's faked. Take a camera to the moon and show him the live feed, he'll say it's tampered with. But really, who cares? If everything was great, Carragher wouldn't have a role, he needs controversy, he needs rivalry, to fuel his media shit-goblin persona. If we lose then we're labelled cheats. If we win then we've obviously bribed somebody. I can easily foresee a world where at least the premier league, if not city also, are looking to bury this and move on.

But at the same time I go back to the ferocity, the determination, Khaldoon showed to clear our name and I can't imagine he'd let anyone be in any doubt that we're cleared and those continuing to spread false allegations and speculation about the legality and motivation of the club's and individual's actions need to be suitability lawyered up.
 
bluetonium said:
There would at the very least need to be a joint statement that the charges have been dropped and will not be revisited or discussed further.

Khaldoon promised he would talk about the charges at the appropriate time. That may well be to just say we fought our corner and won, showed no wrongdoing, but he will speak on the matter when he can, he has to.

To an extent, city can't ever win in the wider world opinion, because we're dealing with the flat earthers of the football world - those who have a base desire to see us put down due to rivalry and jealousy. Carragher, as an example, is never going to offer a fair and insightful edict on the situation, because we hurt him, we denied him success. Show him a picture of the globe, he'll say it's faked. Take a camera to the moon and show him the live feed, he'll say it's tampered with. But really, who cares? If everything was great, Carragher wouldn't have a role, he needs controversy, he needs rivalry, to fuel his media shit-goblin persona. If we lose then we're labelled cheats. If we win then we've obviously bribed somebody. I can easily foresee a world where at least the premier league, if not city also, are looking to bury this and move on.

But at the same time I go back to the ferocity, the determination, Khaldoon showed to clear our name and I can't imagine he'd let anyone be in any doubt that we're cleared and those continuing to spread false allegations and speculation about the legality and motivation of the club's and individual's actions need to be suitability lawyered up.
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On the nail!
 
SilverFox2 said:
As long as City get what they want an under the carpet deal would suit everyone.
Perhaps time to mend the PL and quietly get on with making it again the envy of the rest of the football world.
Can't see how financial matters can be disguised in the accounts though?
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It really wouldn't suit us.
 
bluemc said:
Absolutely not, should have put a smiley face at the end of my post. Just always amuses me when an opinion is posted as fact.

Although for all I know, the poster may have emailed Lord Pannick directly and got the inside track, wouldn't be the first time that's happened ;-)
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Damn, I'd meant to add a smiley on mine as well :(
 
Prestwich_Blue said:
As there's no requirement to even publish the outcome, let alone the full hearing, it's theoretically possible that we've been fully or largely exonerated and everyone involved has been sworn to absolute secrecy.
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Let's face it, anythings theoretically possible, maybe we've been found guilty on all counts and are just discussing what is to happen next. Point is, nobody knows and everything is only speculation.
 
TheThirdDeano said:
Why did we bother to correct them when they sent us the charges? We should have left them be and used them to show incompetence and their desire to rush through charges to damage us
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I think even the PL realised they'd screwed up, sadly only after publication. I wonder if there was a sacrificial lamb who got the bullet for that?
 
moomba said:
It really wouldn't suit us.
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You may be right but it took years of PL rule changing and downright abuse upon our owners for them to eventually start legal procedures against the PL.

Now the PL and the individual red cartel clubs are aware of our power surely they would not risk further litigation.

A fair PL with a normally football focused City is what we all want is it not?

If we simply want revenge I am sure our owners are likely to be active in other areas of commerce rather than completely destroying the PL which has brought so much success to our great Club.

Just an opinion of course.
 
Prestwich_Blue said:
As there's no requirement to even publish the outcome, let alone the full hearing, it's theoretically possible that we've been fully or largely exonerated and everyone involved has been sworn to absolute secrecy.
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Factually true and possible but unlikely in the extreme.

I asked Chatgpt and whittled it down to:- (seems correct as far as I can tell)

does the final decision of this case have to be made public?


ChatGPT said:​

That’s a very sharp and important question — and the answer is no, not automatically, but there are circumstances in which it likely will be made public (or at least partially).
Here’s how that works in law and under Premier League rules

⚖️ 1. The “115 charges” case is being heard by an independent commission​

Under Premier League Rule W, once the League finishes an investigation and brings charges (as it did against Manchester City in February 2023), those charges are referred to an independent commission — a panel of senior lawyers and accountants appointed under the League’s rules.
That commission functions like an arbitral tribunal:

  • It operates privately.

  • Evidence, witnesses, and arguments are confidential.

  • The hearings are not open to the public or media.

2. The Premier League rules on publication — Rule W.82.2 & W.82.3​

The relevant Premier League rules (W.82) govern when and how outcomes are published.

  • Rule W.82.1 → requires public disclosure that a club has been charged (which is why the 115 charges were announced in 2023).

  • Rule W.82.2–82.3 → deal with the commission’s final decision.
They state, in essence (summarized from the Premier League Handbook):
W.82.2: The Commission’s decision is binding and final, subject to appeal to an Appeal Board.
W.82.3: The Premier League shall publish the decision of the Commission, unless the Commission itself directs that it (or part of it) should remain confidential.
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So, publication is the default, but the Commission has discretion to withhold or redact parts of its decision.

️ 3. What this means in practice​


  • The Premier League’s usual practice (e.g., in financial fair play, betting, or ownership rule cases) is to publish the final written decision, often with redactions for sensitive commercial or personal information.

  • The League does this to preserve integrity and public confidence — especially in a case of such scale.

  • The Commission could, in theory, order the decision to remain confidential, but that would be highly controversial, given the massive public and legal interest.

4. Judicial and public interest pressure​

Even though the commission is private, the courts have already established (in the 2021–2022 Manchester City v Premier League cases) that there is a “legitimate public interest” in transparency of regulatory proceedings.
So:

  • If the League or the Commission tried to keep the final ruling secret,

  • Media organisations (and possibly other clubs) could apply to court to seek publication —

  • and there is precedent that the courts may side with openness.

5. Summary​

StageRulePublic or Private?Can / Must be Published?
InvestigationRule W.82 (pre-charge)ConfidentialNo publication allowed
Charges laidW.82.1Public (rules require announcement)Must publish charge notice
Commission hearingW.82.2PrivateNo public hearing
Final decisionW.82.3Commission discretionNormally published, unless the Commission orders confidentiality
Appeal decision (if any)W.83Same rule appliesTypically also published

✅ Bottom line​

The final decision in Manchester City’s case does not have to be made public automatically,
but under Premier League Rule W.82.3, it will normally be published, unless the independent commission specifically directs otherwise.
And given the legal and public interest established by the courts, it’s very likely the decision (at least in summary form) will be made public.
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Centurions said:
Factually true and possible but unlikely in the extreme.

I asked Chatgpt and whittled it down to:- (seems correct as far as I can tell)

does the final decision of this case have to be made public?


ChatGPT said:​

That’s a very sharp and important question — and the answer is no, not automatically, but there are circumstances in which it likely will be made public (or at least partially).
Here’s how that works in law and under Premier League rules

⚖️ 1. The “115 charges” case is being heard by an independent commission​

Under Premier League Rule W, once the League finishes an investigation and brings charges (as it did against Manchester City in February 2023), those charges are referred to an independent commission — a panel of senior lawyers and accountants appointed under the League’s rules.
That commission functions like an arbitral tribunal:

  • It operates privately.

  • Evidence, witnesses, and arguments are confidential.

  • The hearings are not open to the public or media.

2. The Premier League rules on publication — Rule W.82.2 & W.82.3​

The relevant Premier League rules (W.82) govern when and how outcomes are published.

  • Rule W.82.1 → requires public disclosure that a club has been charged (which is why the 115 charges were announced in 2023).

  • Rule W.82.2–82.3 → deal with the commission’s final decision.
They state, in essence (summarized from the Premier League Handbook):

So, publication is the default, but the Commission has discretion to withhold or redact parts of its decision.

️ 3. What this means in practice​


  • The Premier League’s usual practice (e.g., in financial fair play, betting, or ownership rule cases) is to publish the final written decision, often with redactions for sensitive commercial or personal information.

  • The League does this to preserve integrity and public confidence — especially in a case of such scale.

  • The Commission could, in theory, order the decision to remain confidential, but that would be highly controversial, given the massive public and legal interest.

4. Judicial and public interest pressure​

Even though the commission is private, the courts have already established (in the 2021–2022 Manchester City v Premier League cases) that there is a “legitimate public interest” in transparency of regulatory proceedings.
So:

  • If the League or the Commission tried to keep the final ruling secret,

  • Media organisations (and possibly other clubs) could apply to court to seek publication —

  • and there is precedent that the courts may side with openness.

5. Summary​

StageRulePublic or Private?Can / Must be Published?
InvestigationRule W.82 (pre-charge)ConfidentialNo publication allowed
Charges laidW.82.1Public (rules require announcement)Must publish charge notice
Commission hearingW.82.2PrivateNo public hearing
Final decisionW.82.3Commission discretionNormally published, unless the Commission orders confidentiality
Appeal decision (if any)W.83Same rule appliesTypically also published

✅ Bottom line​

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So theoretically it is possible that the outcome might not be publicly declared, but I think we'd all agree that this scenario is unlikely.
 
SilverFox2 said:
You may be right but it took years of PL rule changing and downright abuse upon our owners for them to eventually start legal procedures against the PL.

Now the PL and the individual red cartel clubs are aware of our power surely they would not risk further litigation.

A fair PL with a normally football focused City is what we all want is it not?

If we simply want revenge I am sure our owners are likely to be active in other areas of commerce rather than completely destroying the PL which has brought so much success to our great Club.

Just an opinion of course.
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Not so much revenge, but a clear verdict in our favour would be a hugely important thing for the club. We wouldn't pass up that opportunity.
 
I’m pretty sure that the member clubs will want to know why they’re being asked to pay for legal costs (or have prize money reduced accordingly) should the decision not be released and it’s in City’s favour. There’s no way all 20 clubs would keep silent. And if it’s in the PL’s favour then they will certainly kick up a fuss.

It won’t happen in my opinion.
 
Citizen of Legoland said:
I’m pretty sure that the member clubs will want to know why they’re being asked to pay for legal costs (or have prize money reduced accordingly) should the decision not be released and it’s in City’s favour. There’s no way all 20 clubs would keep silent. And if it’s in the PL’s favour then they will certainly kick up a fuss.

It won’t happen in my opinion.
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Of course it won't happen. I don't know why it's even being discussed.
 
Prestwich_Blue said:
As there's no requirement to even publish the outcome, let alone the full hearing, it's theoretically possible that we've been fully or largely exonerated and everyone involved has been sworn to absolute secrecy.
Click to expand...

And in a few years everyone will have forgot that there was a case.
All media reporting and fan forums will have the coverage deleted.
And George Orwell will have a smug smile on his face as he looks down.
 
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