The on-going controversy of Manchester City’s 115 charges for financial breaches under the Premier League’s financial rules seems to be a never-ending story that looms over Manchester City both on and off the pitch. This has left football fans bewildered by Nottingham Forest’s and Everton’s point deductions, hindering their attempt in Premier League survival whereas Manchester City won the league unpunished. So, what is the difference and why are the Premier League champions yet to be punished?
Everton and Nottingham Forest were charged with one offence each. The Premier League charged Everton and Nottingham Forest for allegedly breaching financial rules under the profit & sustainability regulations that forbid clubs to lose more than £105 million over a three-year period, the reality of them being charged before Manchester City is that it was a far easier case to come to a decision to along with the fact of it only being a single charge. Point deductions were faced for both teams, whilst Everton were successful in an appeal that reduced their deduction from 10 to 6 points.
Manchester City have been charged with 115 separate charges in breaching financial rules, but what are they? 54 of these charges are for providing inaccurate financial reports to the regulating body. 14 are for inaccurate information relating to the payment of wages. 7 are for breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules and 35 come from not complying with the authorities in their investigations. Alongside separate charges being placed from UEFA for their initial FFP rules.
Due to most charges and the timeframe in which these investigations take to be heard from regulating bodies, a court date has allegedly been set for Autumn of this year, however, it is reported that these procedures can take up to a year for a decision to be made. This means that if Man City were to be charged at some point for any of these charges, the likelihood is that it would take consequence after the 2024/2025 season.
All of Manchester City’s charges occurred in a 7-year period from the 2009/10 season to the 2017/18 season. This has left fans from rival clubs confused at how long this has taken to be trialled legally. Manchester City have won four Premier League titles in four years, dominating football both domestically and completing their historic treble last season. However, with early reports that this will be Pep Guardiola’s season in charge of the blue moon, and his public defiance that if Manchester City were to be charged, he would no longer have the desire to be part of the club, could there be any correlation between Pep’s exit and these charges being punished?
Comments