The independent hearing into Manchester City’s alleged 115 breaches of Premier League financial rules begins on Monday after a long wait.
A three-person commission will go through the evidence after City were charged and referred to an independent commission in February 2023, following a four-year investigation.
City faced allegations of breaching the league’s financial regulations between 2009 and 2018.
The club has strongly denied all charges and said their case is supported by a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence”. It stated allegations originally published in German newspaper Der Spiegel came from “illegal hacking and out of context publication of City emails”.
Manchester City, an unstoppable force in the Premier League currently, have won eight league titles, multiple cups and the Champions League since their 2008 takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group.
Should City be found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while huge fines and points deductions are also potential penalties.
“It starts soon and hopefully finishes soon,” City manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday. “I am looking forward to the decision.
“I’m happy it’s starting on Monday. I know there will be more rumours, new specialists about the sentences. We’re going to see. I know what people are looking forward to, what they expect, I know, what I read for many, many years.
“Everybody is innocent until guilt is proven. So we’ll see.”
Charges Against Manchester City
The Premier League claimed Manchester City breached rules requiring the club to provide “accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”.
According to a Premier League statement released at the time, City were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18. They also didn’t provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 occasions.
City have been handed five charges pertaining to their inability to comply with UEFA’s rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) from 2013-14 to 2017-18, while another seven charges are related to breach of Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18. The final 35 charges are for failing to co-operate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.
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The independent hearing is expected to last approximately two months with the verdict not likely to be made public until spring 2025, according to reports.
Notably, Everton and Nottingham Forest had points deducted last season for breaching the PSR rules, and Leicester City avoided a similar fate after winning an appeal against the Premier League.
