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(Reuters) - Manchester City are expected to find out the verdict following their alleged violations of the Premier League's financial regulations after a hearing was held last year.
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES AGAINST MANCHESTER CITY?
City, who have won eight Premier League titles, one Champions League, three FA Cups and six League Cups since being bought by Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, were charged with 115 violations of Premier League regulations.
The charges cover a period starting from 2009 and continuing into the 2022-23 season. City have always denied any wrongdoing.
For every season from 2009-10 to 2017-18, City are alleged to have breached rules requiring clubs to provide accurate financial information to give the league a "true and fair view" of the club's revenues, including sponsorships, and operating costs.
The Premier League also contends that City were in violation of rules requiring clubs to comply with European soccer governing body UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations for the seasons from 2013-14 to 2017-18.
The Premier League alleged City did not cooperate with the league during the entirety of its investigation, which began in 2018, including providing documents and information.
City have also been charged with breaching the league's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules in the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns.
The Premier League further alleged that City did not fully disclose contracts detailing managerial remuneration from the 2009-10 to the 2012-13 seasons, when Roberto Mancini was in charge, and player compensation from the 2010-11 to the 2015-16 campaigns.
BREACH CHARGES
Failure to provide accurate and up-to-date 54
financial information
Failure to provide accurate financial reports 14
for manager and player compensation
Failure to comply with UEFA's regulations, 5
including Financial Fair Play rules
Breaching Premier League Profitability and 7
Sustainability rules
Failure to co-operate with Premier League on 35
investigations
WHAT'S THE LATEST ON THE HEARING AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
The hearing held by an independent commission comprised of three judges appointed by the independent chair of the Premier League Judicial Panel. The hearing began on Sept. 16 last year and ended on Dec. 6.
The hearing, which was not a court case, was conducted privately and lasted for 12 weeks. Lawyer David Pannick led City's defence while the Premier League was represented by Adam Lewis KC, according to British media reports.
In a separate independent hearing in October, both City and the Premier League claimed victory after an arbitration panel ruled on sponsorship deals, known as Associated Party Transactions (APT), that the club was blocked from completing.
In November, City manager Pep Guardiola penned a two-year extension until 2027 and said he would stay to the end of his contract with the English champions even if they were relegated.
WHY DO FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY RULES MATTER?
Financial Fair Play was designed to stop reckless spending and restrict rich benefactors from injecting large amounts of cash into clubs, a practice which distorts the transfer market, pushes players' wages to astronomical levels and has a knock-on effect as other clubs try to keep up.
WHAT IS PSR?
The Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules allow clubs to lose no more than 105 million pounds ($129.34 million)over three seasons, or 35 million pounds a season.
WHAT HAPPENS IF MANCHESTER CITY ARE FOUND GUILTY?
Should City be found guilty of some or all of the charges they could face penalties or huge fines, points deductions, being stripped of their titles or even be demoted from the Premier League.
In 2020 they were banned from the Champions League for two years by UEFA for overstating sponsorship revenue between 2012 and 2016, but they successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Everton and Nottingham Forest had points deducted last season for PSR breaches, although Leicester City avoided a similar fate after winning an appeal against the Premier League.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE?
Relegating City or stripping the club of their league titles would tarnish the competition, much like the 'Calciopoli' scandal that rocked Italy's Serie A in 2006 when Juventus were stripped of two league titles and demoted to the second tier.
Clubs who failed to win the title or lost out on revenue by missing European qualification may also look to claim damages.
WHAT HAPPENS IF MANCHESTER CITY DECIDE TO APPEAL?
Either side can appeal the verdict to an appeals panel, though the case cannot go to CAS - sport's highest court.
An appeal would likely result in further delays in the implementation of any penalties.
WHAT HAVE MANCHESTER CITY SAID?
In 2023, the club said they were surprised by the league's announcement of the charges, adding: "The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position."
In September, Guardiola said he was looking forward to the decision. "It starts soon and then (hopefully) finishes soon. An independent panel will decide and I am looking forward to the decision... Everyone is innocent until proven guilty," he added.
($1 = 0.8118 pounds)
(Reporting by Aadi Nair, Pearl Josephine Nazare and Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
