Manchester City are expected to be found guilty of most of the 115 charges levelled against them, according to reports on Friday. The news has rocked football, sport and the wider world, with the Prime Minister commenting and the impact on UK-UAE relations discussed, alongside sporting sanctions.
Despite the noise over the past 72 hours, the official verdict has yet to be made public by the Premier League. Until it is, there will be more waiting. Once the verdict is confirmed, the next steps will become clearer.
Appeal process and timeline
Assuming City are found guilty of some or most of the charges, the club will appeal any guilty verdict. City's legal team, headed by Lord Pannick KC, will have 14 days to lodge an appeal. The process would then get under way, possibly in the next few weeks but more likely in the next couple of months.
Premier League rules indicate that the appeal should not exceed five days and be concluded within three months of the appeal being filed, which potentially pushes a conclusion into 2027.
The five categories of charges
The outcome of any appeal would then influence the sanctions against City, depending on how many charges they are found guilty of and the severity of those charges, which range in levels of seriousness and are broadly in five different categories:
- Failure to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information between 2009 and 2018
- Failure to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation between 2009 and 2018
- Failure to comply with UEFA regulations, including Financial Fair Play regulations
- Breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules between 2015 and 2018
- Failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations between 2018 and 2023
City have always been likely to be found guilty of number five, the least serious of the charges. The second section relates to alleged dual contracts for individuals such as Roberto Mancini and Yaya Toure in order to facilitate paying them more than was officially reported, so would still be cheating but on a lesser scale. The third and fourth tie in with the first two – if City have not been honest with their bookkeeping then they will have in all likelihood breached UEFA and Premier League financial rules.
Potential sanctions and aftermath
The most significant and serious has always been the first bracket, which is effectively disguising money pumped in by the owner as sponsorship. Should City be found guilty of the most serious charges, or indeed nearly all of the charges levied, then an extreme punishment would be expected. What that will look like remains open to speculation, but a huge fine, points deductions, transfer bans and even being kicked out of the Premier League are all on the table.
If the ultimate verdict post-appeal is not as bad as it currently looks and less severe from a City perspective, then the punishment will be adjusted accordingly. A hefty fine seems inevitable either way unless City are cleared completely.
If City are found guilty on the majority of charges, then a fresh wave of legal action by other clubs seems likely, starting another complex process that will take more time and money and likely extend into the second half of next year and possibly into 2028.
The whole case is unprecedented and as such what comes next is unprecedented too. What is for certain is that whenever the official verdict is released, that will not be the end of the matter.
