Manchester City have enlisted Mark Howard KC to represent them in their legal dispute with the Premier League, according to The Lawyer. The king's counsel is described on the Head of Brick Court Chambers website as "widely regarded as one of the leading commercial silks at the bar," with experience in commercial and 'City' litigation, banking, professional negligence, fraud, energy, and insurance and reinsurance.
Howard has previously represented figures such as Roman Abramovich and Elton John, and was paid £9 million to handle a separate case in 2023, the highest-known sum ever awarded to a barrister in the UK. Everton also enlisted Howard to oversee their defence following an investigation into the Toffees' breaches of financial regulations, which concluded earlier this year. Those PSR violations related to the 2021/22 season, with Everton ordered to pay Burnley £35 million in compensation.
Steven Gerrard Calls for Strong Sanctions
Steven Gerrard has demanded a strong punishment for Manchester City, should their appeal be unsuccessful. Speaking on the Overlap, the Liverpool legend claimed City need to "suffer" for their alleged wrongdoing. He said: "Multi-year punishments, that would be my opinion. I'm not saying that's the right opinion, but that's just how I feel sitting here in this chair."
Gerrard suggested a two-part sanction, stating: "I think it needs to be a transfer ban. I think it needs to be points over a period of time. And make them suffer like they've made everyone else suffer for the nine, ten years that they've done it for." He added: "Because they were strong with Everton. They were strong with Nottingham Forest. We've seen examples of other federations being strong in other countries, so good luck to the Premier League, they have to be strong."
Expulsion Warning Sent to Premier League
According to the Independent, conversations have already taken place amongst Premier League officials regarding whether Manchester City should be expelled from the English top flight immediately. One senior figure from a top-flight club has spoken out against such a severe penalty, cautioning that the alleged violations have created a 'farcical' situation which could potentially become 'violent.'
The same report outlines that 15 fellow member clubs would be required to support triggering such a vote, as that is the threshold needed to vote for expulsion. Nevertheless, this appears highly improbable to happen, given split opinion amongst clubs.
On the pitch, Manchester City secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Liverpool on Sunday. Ryan Gravenberch was shown a red card in the 62nd minute, with Erling Haaland opening the scoring three minutes later, before Jeremy Doku doubled the visitors' advantage. Rayan Cherki put the contest beyond doubt with approximately 10 minutes remaining.
