Man City’s appeal date for the 115 charges is set
Manchester City’s appeal date for their case with the Premier League has been revealed in a recent report.
Back in September, the Premier League announced that City was found guilty of 114 charges by an independent commission, a decision that shook the football world. The 40-page report said that between 2009 and 2018, City used “sham contracts” and fake agreements to make the club’s finances look better, boosting their revenue to £900 million.
City has always denied the claims and says they have strong proof showing that the sponsors are owned by the Abu Dhabi government, not the club owners Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), meaning no extra funds were added by the owners.
The club, which has won the Premier League eight times, appealed the verdict. Despite this, City has been allowed to keep playing without penalties, which has upset fans of other teams.
According to a new report by the Financial Times, if City’s appeal fails, sanctions will be announced early next year. The appeal hearing is expected to take place in mid-December and last several days. Another independent commission will decide the verdict, and if City loses, penalties will follow.
Since the guilty verdict, many have called for harsh punishments. The commission can impose fines, big points deductions, or even kick City out of the Premier League. Some media suggest a possible 50-point deduction, which would be a record, beating the 30-point deduction given to Luton Town in 2008/09.
Any penalties would also come with an appeal process, so the legal battle could drag on beyond this season, with no clear date for when punishments might happen.
The Premier League’s statement was very strong in its language, but City continues to deny wrongdoing. CEO Ferran Soriano said in a video, “The whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation; that the owner’s personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi.”
He added that their lawyers will appeal, pointing out what they call clear mistakes in the ruling.
Journalist Mike Keegan shared that City’s lawyers will argue no rules were broken since deals with government-backed sponsors are common and legal in the Premier League.
The claim that money was moved from government accounts to sponsors and then to City was part of the initial hearing. But the commission said this explanation was “made up after the fact to hide the real funding scheme.”
The use of the word “sham” to describe City’s sponsorship contracts, the timing of announcements, and the number of witnesses will all be important points in the December appeal.