Manchester City are waiting to learn their fate after facing 130 charges of alleged Premier League financial rule breaches - a number risen from the initial 115 charges
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| Manchester City deny all 115+ charges the Premier League placed against them, with a verdict expected soon (Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images) |
Manchester City could be staring down the barrel of a severe penalty, with warnings suggesting they might face a deduction that could go as high as 100 POINTS if they're found to have violated Premier League financial regulations. As the judgement day inches closer in their drawn-out showdown with the league, City boss Pep Guardiola has braced for the outcome.
On February 7, he anticipated: "In one month, I think there will be a verdict and the sentence."
Given the boundless authority of the independent commission which reviewed the allegations from September to December of the preceding year, City faces a raft of possible sanctions, including point deductions, demotions, and even being stripped of their titles. Such punitive measures have precedent – Everton and Nottingham Forest were both subjected to points deductions last season for minor infringements of the Premier League's profit and sustainability codes.
Kieran Maguire, a renowned football finance expert, recently weighed in on the potential ramifications for City during his appearance on the Tear Us Apart podcast. He surmised: "It has to be a points deduction – if found guilty," adding firmly, "We are looking at a points deduction somewhere in the region of 60 to 100 points.
"The other thing that would happen is that the board of directors at Manchester City effectively would be proven to be liars and misrepresenting the state of the football club to the authorities; I don't see how they can keep their jobs. Certainly we saw in the case of Juventus, who have done something similar [to what City are charged with] that the whole board of directors had to resign.", reports the Mirror.
As Maguire points out, the entire leadership of Juventus, including big names like president Andrea Agnelli and vice-president Pavel Nedved, stepped down in November 2022 before facing a hefty 15-point reduction in January – which was later adjusted to a 10-point cut. Over at City, the top brass includes chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and directors Martin Edelman, Simon Pearce, John MacBeath, Alberto Galassi, and Abdulla Khouri.
The club has categorically refuted all 130 accusations levelled against it.
- Matthew Abbott
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