Premier League clubs fear Manchester City’s case will run into next season. City are certain to appeal before Friday’s deadline and are adamant they will launch a massive legal fight to clear the club’s name after being found guilty of breaching Premier League spending rules. That sets up another long drawn out chapter in the City saga which has been running since 2018 when the allegations were first published and the Premier League first lodged the 115 charges in February 2023.
No set timeframe for appeal
The Premier League have said they will deal with the appeal as soon as possible but there is no actual set time frame when it will be completed. That has led to major fears it could drag on and with City still playing for the title and that would be a nightmare scenario if they were to be crowned champions having already been found guilty.
City are adamant they will fight and members of the hierarchy - including chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Ferran Soriano - have said publicly they will fight it all the way in what has become an increasingly bitter battle. They are also facing the prospect of other clubs seeking damages against them which could run into hundreds of millions and that will also drag on.
Possible sanctions and compensation
The Premier League could expel City from the top flight but some clubs believe a huge points deduction - which would see them relegated - and lengthy transfer ban is a more likely action. City’s owners could also be stripped of the club under strong new powers from the Independent Football Regulator.
Sports barrister Yasin Patel, of Church Court Chambers said: “If the current situation relating to sanctions and Appeal can be finalised within this football season, it would be some achievement, as one would expect Manchester City’s appeal process to take some time. In relation to other clubs seeking compensation, we can safely say that unless some collective deal or agreement is reached, this will stretch well into 2027 and more likely, 2028.”
WSL team unaffected so far
Meanwhile, City’s WSL title-winning team have yet to be affected and manager Andree Jeglertz said this week it was “business as usual.” Clearly, they are under the same club umbrella and there is no ongoing WSL investigation as the charges - dated from 2009 to 2018 - pre-date the WSL. The Football Association are likely to step in at some point as governors of the game in England but it is at that point when wider issues for the club would come under the microscope rather than just the senior men’s team in the Premier League.
So far, it has been a Premier League investigation. The FA launched the Women’s Super League in 2011 but the WSL effectively took over as a separate entity in 2024.
