January 17 – A date has been set for European champions Manchester City’s hearing regarding 115 alleged rule breaches – but it’s being kept secret for the moment.
Last season’s Abu Dhabi-owned treble winners were charged almost a year ago for their alleged misdemeanours over nine seasons between 2009 and 2018 and were referred to an independent commission.
The Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters told the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee of the UK Parliament: “There is a date set for that proceeding. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you when that is, but it is progressing.”
The league has accused City of about 80 alleged breaches of its financial rules and 30 more relating to its alleged failure to cooperate with an investigation.
If found guilty, penalties could include points deductions or even, in a worst-case scenario, expulsion from the top division.
Masters was questioned over why some financial investigations, like those involving Everton and Nottingham Forest – announced on Tuesday – could be dealt with quickly and others, like City’s, took longer.
“The volume and character of the charges laid before Man City, which I obviously cannot talk about at all, are being heard in a completely different environment,” Masters said.
Since being hit with the slew of charges, City have retained their Premier League title, won the Champions League for the first time, won the FA Cup and become club world champions.
Everton were handed the biggest sporting sanction in the Premier League’s history – a 10-point deduction – after being found by an independent commission to have made a loss of £124.5 million over three years up to the end of the 2021-22 season.
The league’s profit and financial sustainability rules allow clubs to lose a maximum of £105 million ($130 million) over a three-year period or face sanctions.
The number and scale of the charges laid before City means any punishment could be much more severe.
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