Independent commission finds Manchester City guilty of most financial charges

Two years and 10 days after the start of the hearings in the Manchester City case, an independent commission delivered a verdict: the football club was found guilty of the majority of 115 counts of violating the financial rules of the Premier League. What will happen now to one of the leading and most successful clubs in English football of the last two decades?

Exactly which episodes we are talking about have not yet been reported. BBC Sports sources said that the full text of the verdict was received by the club's managers, who had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to access it.

Manchester City itself did not comment on the information about the verdict, saying only that from the point of view of management, “the process continues.” The club is expected to appeal the decision.

There is indeed still a long way to go before this case is completed. The commission will now have to determine the punishment, after which City are expected to appeal again.

The club was charged on February 6, 2023.

Experts say the seriousness of the offenses means a point deduction now looks almost certain - unless the club gets the decision overturned on appeal.

But the main question for many fans is not only the severity of the punishment, but when exactly it will be applied. The outcome of the current Premier League season may depend on this.

After determining guilt, an independent commission must hold a separate hearing and decide what the punishment will be. According to BBC Sport, the hearing could not take place for several months, and the final result could theoretically not be published until the appeal is completed.

There are several options for sanctions: a monetary fine, deduction of points and even demotion in the division.

The commission will have to study hundreds of pages of materials. For comparison, the Everton club were first deprived of ten points for violating the rules of profitability and sustainability, after an appeal the penalty was reduced to six points, but then two more were removed for a number of other violations. Nottingham Forest lost four points.

However, the affairs of these clubs were much smaller. City face seven separate charges of violating profitability and sustainability rules in the Premier League alone and a further five related to UEFA competitions.

In addition, the case also concerns alleged inflated sponsorship income, payments to players and coaches, and failure to cooperate with the investigation.

Usually, penalty points are removed immediately after the decision on sanctions is announced, even if the club intends to appeal them.

But if the decision on punishment is delayed until next season, the Premier League will be in a very awkward position.

What happens, for example, if City become champions? Or if a club were relegated from the top flight but, if points were immediately deducted, would retain their place in the league because Manchester City would be below them?

It will be extremely difficult to apply sanctions retroactively.

In the Manchester City case, the penalty could theoretically be so great that it would effectively mean relegation from the Premier League.

Another possible option is to strip the club of its league membership, although it is completely unclear how such a sanction could be applied mid-season.

A large monetary fine is also possible, but this option looks less likely given the fact that other clubs have already been punished for financial violations by deduction of points.

Whatever punishment the club is given, the next step is the appeal process. Usually the club has 14 days to submit it, but in this case it is not even known whether the countdown of this period has already begun or whether it will begin only after the punishment is determined.

The Premier League usually seeks to speed up such processes. But the matter is so complex that the standard procedure may not be applicable.

There is also a less likely option: the sanction will be announced, but the points will be removed only after the appeal is considered. This will almost certainly cause protests from the other teams, as the penalty usually takes effect immediately.

Even a final decision on the 115 charges may only be the beginning of the next stage.

According to BBC Sport, Premier League clubs are already consulting with lawyers about the possibility of demanding compensation from Manchester City.

One source, who previously held senior positions at two Premier League clubs, says individual claims are expected. Another lawyer suggested the claims process could be centralized by the Premier League itself.

Premier League rules allow clubs to demand compensation from each other. Such a mechanism is already in use: Everton were ordered to pay Burnley £35 million after breaking financial rules.

Burnley claimed the breaches affected their chances of retaining their Premier League place, but Everton are appealing the decision.

In the case of Manchester City, the range of potential claims is much wider. We can talk not only about clubs that lost the championship to him, but also about teams that did not qualify for the Champions League or other European competitions or were relegated from the Premier League.

Therefore, the verdict on 115 charges does not put an end to the Manchester City case. On the contrary, after two years and 10 days of hearings, English football received an answer only to the first question - whether the club was guilty.

Now it remains to be seen what the punishment will be, when it will come into force, whether it will stand after an appeal and how many new legal precedents the decision of the independent commission will generate.

For the Premier League itself, putting an end to the Manchester City case this season would be the most preferable option.

This is the clearest way to avoid uncertainty. If the punishment and subsequent appeal are considered quickly enough, all other clubs will understand exactly what they are fighting for in the championship.

However, the appeal does not necessarily end in the defeat of the club. In 2020, City already achieved the lifting of UEFA's two-year ban on participation in the Champions League.