Top lawyer reviews Man City’s chance of winning appeal against 115 charges
A top lawyer has shared why Manchester City might find it really hard to overturn the guilty verdict against them for breaking Premier League financial rules.
The club was found guilty of most charges in a review by an independent commission. They were accused of using fake deals to boost their revenue and hide costs, with secret funding deals worth up to £900 million from 2009 to 2018 – during which City won three Premier League titles.
The club could face several punishments, like being suspended from the league, losing points, replaying matches, being kicked out, paying compensation to other teams, automatic relegation, or even having titles taken away.
Despite the guilty ruling, City say they’re innocent and have appealed. The outcome is expected within 12 weeks. The club says they have strong evidence to back up their case and believe the ruling has clear mistakes.
Sports lawyer James Severn told BBC Sport that City faces “big challenges” to get the verdict changed. City will argue that their sponsorship deals were real, not fake. Severn said they need to prove a serious mistake or unfairness in the decision to win the appeal.
One major issue is the sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways. City said before that the Abu Dhabi government didn’t pay for this sponsorship. A 2015 US court document revealed this, and City might say it was taken out of context to make their case stronger.
When the verdict was announced, Etihad Airways said it wasn’t given the chance to provide information or check the details. Severn added that if clear evidence shows the money came from the Abu Dhabi government, that could help City. But if this evidence was already seen by the commission, which still called the deals fake, City will have a tough time proving they’re wrong.
City might also argue that some emails from Football Leaks were misunderstood or taken out of context by the commission. Severn explained that if City can show this, it could be an important mistake. Still, the commission heard lots of evidence but still found serious fake funding.
City’s next Premier League game is at home against Ipswich Town on October 17.