Manchester City has been accused by the Premier League of breaking its rules beginning in 2009 and continuing through the current 2022–23 season.
What was Man City’s FFP violation?
Manchester City is accused to have violated regulations requiring teams to present accurate financial information to give the league a “true and fair perspective” of the club’s earnings, including sponsorships, and running costs, for every season from 2009–10 to 2017–18.
Der Spiegel, a German tabloid, claimed in November 2018 that City had overstated the value of their sponsorship agreements with businesses connected to their Abu Dhabi owners, notably the government-owned airline Etihad and the telecommunications firm Etisalat.
The majority owner of the City Football Group, which includes City, is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi’s half-brother.
Man City allegedly violated financial fair play.
The Financial Fair Play (FFP) standards of UEFA, the organization that governs European football, were allegedly broken by City throughout the seasons 2013–14 through 2017–18, according to the Premier League.
City will be banned from participating in European competition in 2020 as a result of breaking UEFA’s FFP criteria.
After City successfully argued before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the highest court in sport, that the majority of the claims were either unfounded or outside of UEFA’s statute of limitations, the suspension was reversed.
Man City: Are they helping the FFP investigations?
The Premier League claimed that throughout the whole of its inquiry, which started in 2018, City did not cooperate with the league, including by not giving papers and information.
The league had received “substantial interaction and a tremendous number of comprehensive materials,” according to City’s statement on Tuesday.
City allegedly refused to help with UEFA’s probe into FFP violations in 2020. CAS upheld the allegation and stated that City had shown “blatant contempt” for the probe.
Sustainability and Profitability
According to Premier League regulations, clubs must outline owners’ plans for covering losses, which are limited to 105 million pounds ($126.99 million) per three-year term.
City has been accused by the league of breaking these rules in the 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18 seasons.
Disclosure of Contracts
The Premier League claimed that City failed to completely disclose contracts that included information on player compensation from the 2010-11 to the 2015-16 seasons as well as contracts that covered Roberto Mancini’s tenure as manager from 2009-10 to 2012-13.
What will Manchester City do next?
The Premier League referred City to an impartial commission, which will hold a private hearing on the matter.
City may challenge the decision, but CAS is not an option. Any appeal would be examined by a different panel.
If it is determined that City broke the regulations, the Premier League may punish them with anything from a warning and punishment to losing points and being kicked out of the top division.
