Manchester City will not face immediate sanctions if an initial decision on their 115 charges over alleged Premier League and UEFA rule breaches returns a guilty verdict on any charge.
A hearing into City's 115 charges - of which the club strenuously deny - is believed to have taken place in private between September and December 2024.
The charges against them - which The Times report may be as many as 130 due to an initial reporting error - span between the years of 2009 and 2018.
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They include alleged failures to provide up-to-date financial information between those dates, alleged failure to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation, and five alleged breaches of UEFA regulations relating to Financial Fair Play and Club Licensing.
An unnamed three-person panel is currently reviewing the case after both City and the Premier League's legal teams presented their closing arguments in December.
Potential punishments if City are found guilty of any charges include fines, points deductions or even relegation.
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Financial expert Kieran Maguire claimed on The Overlap's Fan Panel that City will not face relegation even if found guilty of the most serious charges, but could instead be handed a points deduction that would effectively relegate them anyway.
A verdict, which is expected in the first quarter of 2025, has not yet been reached.
City boss Pep Guardiola stated in February that the verdict could arrive 'in one month', although there have been few recent updates on the case given the hearing was held in private.
Now, Premier League CEO Richard Masters has stated in an interview with the Financial Times that a verdict is likely to be made before the end of the current 2024/25 season.
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The outlet adds, however, that the independent three-person panel will not decide on any sanctions if the club is found guilty of any charge.
That would be down to a separate process which must reach its own judgment - and that can be appealed by either Manchester City or the Premier League.
Though Masters refused to comment on specifics involving the case, it is claimed that the case could technically continue into next season - while it is unclear as to which season City would be punished in if a guilty verdict is reached.
Man City's charges in full
At present, here are the 115 charges that City are publicly known to be facing:
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- Failure to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information from 2009/10 to and including 2017/18 - 54 alleged breaches
- Failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to February 2023 - 35 alleged breaches
- Failure to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation from 2009/10 to and including 2017/18 - 14 alleged breaches
- Breaches of Premier League profitability and sustainability regulations from 2015/16 to and including 2017/18 - Seven alleged breaches
- Failure to comply with UEFA's regulations, including UEFA's Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations - Five alleged breaches
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, Champions League, UEFA
Ryan Smart