Man City to be stripped of PL titles? FFP investigation timeline hint emerges amid Everton call
It is unlikely that Manchester City will be stripped of their Premier League titles if they are found guilty of the 115 charges issued against them by the governing body, according to reports.
Man City were charged in February with more than 100 breaches of the competition’s financial fair play regulations dating back to 2009.
The club could face a points deduction or even expulsion from the competition if found guilty but Man City have vociferously denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight their case. It is unclear how long this process will take with some suggestions that proceedings could run for several more years.
Man City went on to win the treble last season. They overhauled Arsenal to claim a fifth Premier League title in six years, followed up by winning the FA Cup and then beat Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
Off the field the club have also grown, recording record revenues last year.
To many critics of the club, which is supported by the vast wealth of owner Sheikh Mansour, the Premier League charges cast a shadow over their success.
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There have been calls on social media for the Citizens to be stripped of their Premier League titles if found guilty of the alleged breaches – but the Independent‘s Miguel Delaney insists that is unlikely.
Delaney wrote (via the Manchester Evening News): “Figures involved don’t seem to think any prospective punishments would be retrospective or ‘looking backwards’ (ie stripping titles) but this is all described as ‘unprecedented’.”
Man City are back under the spotlight again this week after Everton were docked ten Premier League points after being found to have “taken chances” with the league’s financial rules.
Many supporters of other teams are wondering why it is taking so long to come to a conclusion over the charges brought against Man City.
And football finance expert Nick Harris has explained the delay in making a decision. When asked about the 115 charges, he told the Rest is Football podcast: “That is one of the reasons it is taking so much time. There is just so much work that needed to be done to get to the point of charging them.
“It was more than four years after the Premier League opened their investigation into Manchester City that it was formally announced as being open.
“Now it is more than five years since the Premier League investigation began, so they’ve had more than five years to put together a case because it is massive and complex. The other reason it has taken so long is because Man City have done what they can to stifle the process.
“In 2021 we were investigating what was happening with this case and eventually as a journalist I was able to get access to the high court and be able to report the process was ongoing when neither the Premier League nor Manchester City wanted it to be reported.
“What that told us was that Man City were using every legal tool they could to draw this out as long as possible and even since they were charged in February, they for example have challenged the legitimacy of the Premier League even to act against them which in itself is taking months to even get to the point where a commission will sit down and look at the evidence.
“So, it’s a hugely complex case and Man City of course say they are completely innocent and they have a huge amount of irrefutable evidence that will prove that. But we haven’t seen that yet and I think it would be good for everybody if that was a little bit more transparency around those issues.
“In the Man City case, if they are found guilty it will open 115 cans of worms and how on earth do you go about trying to right the wrongdoings if that’s the case. I keep saying if because at this point nobody has a clear idea of when Man City might even get to a commission stage, let alone a finishing point, it could be years.”