Monday will see the start of what some in Football are calling the ‘Trial of the century’.
JustArsenal will be updating you on anything relevant in a case that is expected to take 10 weeks to be heard by an independent hearing.
Man, City face 115 charges for breaking Financial Rules spread over 14 seasons which covers the entire tenure of its current ownership.
If you’re wondering why this would be on a site dedicated to Arsenal, then you don’t understand the impact this will have on the future of the Sport in the UK. Not just does it impact the Gunners but every stakeholder of every club in Britain.
For the Premier League it’s embarrassing – whatever the verdict. They either have the most dominant side of their competition in the last decade overshadowed by the fact they cheated, or realise that their own rules have been manipulated and, in that event, will continue to be so.
It’s not great for the brand of ‘The best League in The World’ either way but long term the governing body need to show that they can implement their own policies. If not, their own legislation becomes redundant and suddenly the inmates are running the asylum.
I will try to cover this process without any bias.
Therefore, it should be stressed that Man City have always insisted their innocence and maintain they have the evidence that proves this.
Pep Guardiola, on more than one occasion, has said that if anything is revealed different to what he’s been told by his employers, he would walk away.
I’m of course not a legal expert, but it does beg the question if the accused have the proof to make this go away why wouldn’t they hand it over after 20 months of living with these accusations?
While they managed to overturn UEFA kicking them out of Europe on appeal in 2020 one of the charges that did stick (which they were fined for) was a failure to cooperate.
Their justification at the time was not trusting the process, and while they haven’t expressed that this time, they do believe this is discrimination against the Middle East building sport portfolios, with jealous rivals simply putting on the pressure for their own self-interest.
While Sheikh Mansoor can and has afforded the best legal team in the world to find any loophole to, at the very least, receive the lightest sanction possible, there’s been talk that other Billionaire owners in the topflight would be willing to support the Prem, who are not used to these kinds of costs. Hence why (including any appeal) City can afford to drag this on and on.
The Premiership has been one of the greatest brands England have ever created, especially marketing it abroad. Like when the Super League was suggested, the government won’t be happy that the future of their national game might now come down to who can afford the best lawyers. Hence why they want to govern the game.
During the International break, Leicester’s lawyers found flaws in the rules to avoid a points deduction for the Foxes. Now the same company have to essentially take on a State!
It should be pointed out though that Man City are being accused of a lot more serious levels of cheating than Everton and Forest faced last season. While some of the 115 charges will relate to the same offense, there’s so many breaches that this is complex, hence why it’s taken this long for the case to he heard.
54 of the charges are a failure to provide accurate financial information between 2009-2018
14 charges relate to proving where the revenue comes from to pay their players and manager. Believed to particularly include how they attracted and paid Mancini although between 2010-2016 they are alleged to have also left out details of how players are paid.
5 charges are between 2013- 2018 for not following UEFA FFP rules.
Dealing with UEFA themselves, they managed to overturn being kicked out of Europe due to CAS saying Europe’s governing body were time barred. That can’t happen in this case
7 charges relate to breaking the Prems own FFP rules between 2015-18. That usually entails how much money a club is allowed to lose or how much profit they make, and where that revue comes from.
35 charges are between 2018 – 2023 for a failure to cooperate with the inquiry.
This is a charge City accepted from UEFA but only because they didn’t trust them and not an admission of guilt.
Guilt could lead to a fine, points deduction or even relegation
JustArsenal will keep you updated
Dan
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I don’t know where the idea that this a trial came from. It’s hearing being held in secret by an independent commission of three people nominated by a KC, and we’ll know nothing until they decide to let us know.
Exactly Jax. There’s no way Dan Smith can keep people informed on the hearing, as it’s being heard behind closed doors.
True, but somehow stuff always seems to get leaked. Perhaps Dan’s on the commission🤣
😂😂
Exactly lol
Info on where it’s taking place is already known. It’s in The International Dispute Resolution Centre near St Paul’s in the City.. No names on who’s on the panel yet.
I do have the price of sandwiches lol
Stay tuned
All info will be welcome.
Like all of us, I hope that City will be suitably punished if found guilty. However, I think we should keep the champagne on ice until we see what charges they are actually found guilty of in and the punishments attached to those. Then, even more importantly, what the result is of the inevitable appeal(s) that City will make.
I say this because City has not been slow in the past using the same financial muscle it has on the football side on the legal side as well when necessary. A few years ago, I recall they were in trouble over allegations regarding CL rules. They appealed and instead of a ban or suspension received a £20m fine, I think. The owner of City is personally worth an estimated £17 billion. It therefore represented interest on the interest on the interest etc. on the funds available.
So, I suggest we wait and see what eventually happens. It will be some time yet before we know whether any punishment that’s handed down is a substantial one or another “£20m-type flea bite”.
If i am correct they cannot appeal against the decision of this panel through CAS like they did with the Uefa case.
The only reason these dirty cheaters escaped was
5 year time-barred rule. Imagine a murderer escaping because the dna proof were more than 5 years old hence inadmissible.
I think the position is that City cannot take an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). However, they can appeal to an independent panel which is appointed by the EPL.
Abeg, we’ve been hearing this for years
The fact that it’s behind closed doors sticks to high heaven. Why should it be, when others aren’t?
As one KC pointed out, justice must not only be done, it must also be seen to be done.
How can people decide if the outcome was fair, especially if City are not punished?
And if the PL want clubs to adhere to their rules then a public hearing is the way to go since most of the owners care more about their image than anything.
Just on that point alone, this has already gone wrong imo. The 115 charges are really only 5 charges with multiple offences in each category.
The other thing not mentioned is that the Everton/Forest issues were easier to deal with because the transgressions were recent, so they were based on new rules taht are more clear-cut than the older rules City are accused of breaking. The older problems will be harder to prove.
One thing the owners may not like is that if City are acquitted behind closed doors, then their reputation will be tarnished forever – because, quite simply, no-one will believe it.
* stinks to high heaven
sigh. typing is hard 🙄
What others have NOT been behind closed doors? Have there even been others?. It’s not a court of law, so does not have to follow the rules that justice must be seen to be done.