What charges has Manchester City been hit with?
The reigning champions, Manchester City, has been slapped with over 100 violations of competition regulations by the Premier League, spanning from the 2009-10 season up to 2022-23. The charges can be categorised into four major areas: not providing a “genuine and accurate representation of the club’s financial status”; not disclosing comprehensive details of the payments made to players and managers; violations of domestic and international financial fair play rules; and not extending cooperation or assistance to the Premier League during its investigations. A three-member independent panel will start hearing the charges on Monday, most likely in a location in London.
But, what are the specific details?
Only an elongated charge sheet has been disclosed publicly by the Premier League, the specifics of which have been kept under wraps. Although, the timeframe points to the charges that have already been public knowledge. The charges include allegations that City inflated sponsorship deal values for funnelling more money from the owners into the club. The club has also been charged with carrying out covert payments to the then manager, Roberto Mancini, and Yaya Touré’s agent of the time. It has been claimed that these actions resulted in the club breaching financial rules. Finally, the charges also include accusations of the club obstructing the Premier League’s efforts to look into these allegations. Manchester City has consistently denied committing any foul play.
Why are these charges significant?
Over the course of 14 seasons, the professionalism and sheer dominance exhibited by Manchester City saw them notch seven Premier League wins, six League Cup victories and triumphant in three FA Cups. They also laid claim to the revered Champions League title. This winning streak, bolstered by an impressive squad worth over £1 billion, continued with further successes in the Premier League, Uefa Super Cup, and Fifa Club World Cup. The period from 2011 to 2012 saw Manchester City participate in the Champion’s League annually.
These feats have been the bedrock of the Premier League’s global supremacy and escalating transfer tariffs. However, this success has raised conjecture regarding the commencement of a separate Super League- a plan that saw Manchester City involved. It has also escalated the need for an autonomous regulation within English football. The charges that were initiated in February 2023 led to Javier Tebas, the La Liga president, branding the English top tier as a ‘doped market’. Tebas expressed his sentiments with Mundo Deportivo, stating that the majority of Premier League Clubs validate that Manchester City ought to face sanctions, particularly if proven to have achieved success by contravening the rules.
Three individuals, headed by Murray Rosen KC as instructed by the Premier League would form an autonomous commission to deliberate the charges in a closed-door session. Despite the absence of an official period, legal scholars speculate a minimum of two months before a verdict is revealed. Both parties may still seek to bring their case to an appeals board or endeavour arbitration proceedings. If all else fails, the High Court could be the last resort, albeit the Premier League’s association rules do not advocate the use of the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
According to Premier League regulation W.51, if a team breaches the rules, there is a commission entitled to inflict various penalties. This could range from fines to suspension, point deduction and even possible ejection from the tournament. Moreover, as revealed in subsection W.51.7, the commission can enforce any mixture of these penalties or choose a different punishment if deemed appropriate. Worryingly for City, there’s also a possibility of them being deprived of their titles.
City’s response to these potential charges is confident. They have publicly stated they are open to the review and believe there is irrefutable evidence to validate their position. Behind the scenes, the club has argued they weren’t informed of the charges before they were posted online. Lastly, they pointed out that this isn’t the first time they have been investigated for financial irregularity, with previous instances resulting in them being vindicated.
In the past, Uefa entered into conflict with City. In 2020, Uefa excluded City from the Champions League for two years due to allegations that club exaggerated its sponsorship revenue in its accounts during 2012-2016. This penalty, however, was repealed on appeal by Cas. Despite overriding the Uefa rule, the panel concluded that a primary charge relating to sponsorship by Etihad Airlines wasn’t proven. They stated the evidence presented by Uefa was inadequate, adding that if Uefa case was correct, it would imply City staff who testified were not being truthful.
This current scenario is reminiscent of the ‘Football Leaks’ situation. In 2014, Uefa found City guilty of breaching its financial fair play regulations, but an agreement was reached where City paid a £17m fine and submitted smaller squads for the Champions League. The reassessment of these allegations resulted from the documentation unearthed during the 2015 “Football Leaks” hack. This hack surfaced what seemed to be internal City documents and emails among various football insiders. There’s understanding these leaked materials triggered the Premier League’s investigations culminating in the current charges. City have previously characterised the Football Leaks as a concerted attack aiming to tarnish their image.