Man City FFP: ‘Whole board to resign’ if guilty of ‘fraud’ as finance expert sends relegation warning
A football finance expert claims Manchester City’s “whole board” would need “to resign” if they are found guilty of breaching FFP rules.
At the start of 2023, Man City were charged with breaching Financial Fair Play rules after the Premier League referred the club to an independent commission. This followed a four-year probe into their conduct between 2009 and 2018.
Man City have insisted on their innocence, but if they are found guilty, they could be given a huge fine, transfer ban, points deduction or relegation from the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola‘s side failed in their attempts to force Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules to be scrapped after launching a separate legal case against the Premier League. It was decided that the regulations were unlawful and they have since been amended.
It remains to be seen how this verdict could impact Man City’s FFP case. This hearing concluded towards the end of 2024 and a verdict is expected around March.
READ: Ten Manchester City moves for Pep Guardiola’s perfect January transfer window
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has broken down Man City’s FFP case, suggesting they would be “relegated” with a “massive points deduction” if they are “found guilty of those charges”.
“In the case of City, there’s actually three charges. It’s not 115,” Maguire said on The Overlap.
“Has money come in from the owners which they pretend to be from the sponsors? If that is the case, then that is fraud. That is about as serious as it gets. And, if found guilty of those charges, then the book will be thrown at Manchester City and it’s going to be a massive points deduction.
“You can’t relegate them because the Premier League and the EFL are independent bodies, so the EFL doesn’t have to accept them. Given the Everton and the Forest points deductions, they were both described by the commission of being ‘minor breaches’.
“Well, what Manchester City are being accused of is major breaches over a 9-10 year period. So, you would be looking at somewhere between 60 and 100 points if you go through on a charge by charge basis. So, it would relegate them.”
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“The paying people off-book, it happens in football. I know a number of players and ex-players who are working for the owners’ company and also on a wage at the club.
“We’ve got history of players’ mothers being paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to be an academy scout in order for the player to have a slightly better deal and so on. Football is quite creative in those rules.
“And the third charge, which I think City will find difficult to defend, will be non-cooperation with the Premier League’s investigation.
“Having said that, if my wife looks at my internet history, I’m in trouble! It shouldn’t be done. You shouldn’t be relying on hacked emails, and that’s City’s defence.”
Maguire has also indicated that there are “very narrow grounds for appeal”.
“I think there are very narrow grounds for appeal. It’s only if the conduct of the committee itself was unprofessional in some way that one of the parties can potentially make an appeal,” Maguire added.
“If Manchester City are found guilty then the whole board of directors has to resign because they will have been found guilty of misrepresentation, effectively lying to a commission.”