Manchester City could face severe punishment if found guilty of breaking Premier League financial rules.
Several reports on Tuesday morning (August 13) indicated that the hearing for the 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial regulations by Manchester City is set to begin on September 16.
In February 2023, the Premier League charged City with 115 alleged breaches spanning a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018. The charges include failing to provide accurate financial information for nine seasons, not fully disclosing former manager Roberto Mancini’s pay during his tenure from 2009 to 2013, and not providing complete details of player remuneration, including that of former midfielder Yaya Toure, over six seasons from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
Additionally, City has been accused of not cooperating with the Premier League’s investigation and withholding documents over five seasons from 2018-19 to 2022-23.
The investigation was launched in 2018 after Football Leaks documents, published by the German website Der Spiegel, revealed details of Mancini’s contract, image rights agreements involving Toure’s agent, and emails suggesting that City’s owners directly paid sponsorship money.
Manchester City have strongly denied all allegations.
Given the severity and complexity of the alleged breaches, if proven, City could face significant consequences, including potential relegation from the Premier League.
According to The Times, the outcome of the 10-week hearing is expected early in 2025.
This isn’t the first time City has faced such accusations. In 2020, UEFA handed City a two-year ban from European competition over alleged financial rule violations. However, the ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which ruled that some of the payments in question were time-barred and that the allegation of disguised equity funding via Etihad Airways remained unsubstantiated.
Unlike UEFA, the Premier League hearing can address the time-barred elements of City’s alleged breaches.
The outcome of a separate legal case brought by City against the Premier League over associated party transaction (APT) rules is expected to be revealed within the next two weeks.
