Man City FFP: Pep Guardiola’s side tipped to receive ‘very good news’ on one condition
A football finance expert reckons Manchester City will receive “very good news” if a verdict in their Financial Fair Play case is reached in January.
At the start of 2023, it was revealed that the Premier League holders face over 100 charges after being accused of breaching FFP rules. This followed a four-year probe into their conduct between 2009 and 2018.
If found guilty, Man City could be punished with a huge fine, points deduction, transfer ban, or even expulsion from the Premier League.
It remains to be seen whether Pep Guardiola‘s side will be punished (if at all) and they have insisted on their innocence throughout this prolonged process.
Earlier this year, Man City fought back against the Premier League, campaigning for the removal of Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.
If successful, this separate case had the potential to dramatically alter their FFP situation, though it was ruled that amended APT rules would remain in place.
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Following the conclusion of Man City’s APT case, their attention turned to their FFP hearing, which concluded earlier this week.
A recent report from The Times revealed a verdict could be reached in January, while an ‘appeal could take six to eight months to be completed’.
‘One senior legal source told The Times that the three-man panel would be acutely aware of the attention focused on the outcome of the case and would be working flat out to get their judgment out as soon as possible.
‘That could be the end of January, according to the source, but the number of alleged rule breaches and the complexity of the case could mean that it is delayed.’
‘City, who deny any wrongdoing, could be hit with a heavy points deduction or even relegation if the more serious charges are proved. In that case, the club are almost certain to lodge an appeal, which the legal source said could take six to eight months to be completed.’
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Despite this, ex-Man City financial advisor Stefan Borson reckons his former club ‘could receive very good news in their case if the decision is published before the end of January’.
In an interview with Football Insider, he explained: “It would be very good news for City if it was delivered very quickly.
“But I think it’s extremely unlikely given the duration of the hearing itself. I just can’t see how they could come to a decision in that timescale.
“If you think about what that would look like in the High Court, it would take probably a year at least to get a decision after a 12-week trial, so I think it’s unlikely.
“If you think about the recent associated party transaction hearing, that was a two-week hearing and it still took three months to get a decision. Compared to the City allegations, that was relatively simple.
“They may well have agreed with the tribunal they would come up with a decision in a certain timescale.
“I think it’s unlikely, but I don’t know what The Times have been told. Maybe The Times have been told something in terms of the agreed timetable, but on the face of it, it’s going to take the tribunal a long time to come to a conclusion.
“If they were to find against City, I would expect it to take even longer to reduce the judgement because they will know that the scrutiny that is going to follow if they find against City is going to be that much more intense.
“I would be absolutely staggered if the decision came in January, unless it was a very firm dismissal of the case.”