Manchester City could face potential legal action from Premier League rivals who feel cheated out of titles or Champions League qualification if they are found guilty of breaching financial rules, i can reveal.
City were charged with more than 100 alleged breaches of financial rules spanning over a nine-year period in which they won multiple trophies and were staples in Europe’s elite competition on Monday in a move that shocked English football. The club have indicated they will mount a robust defence and have welcomed the chance to clear their name in front of an independent commission in the coming months.
There is so much at stake for City, who could be expelled from the Premier League and – as i revealed on Monday – have titles stripped from them if the commission finds against them. They could also face points deductions and sizeable fines among a raft of options open to the commission.
But i understands that any guilty verdict would open the door to Manchester City’s Premier League rivals who have missed out on titles or Champions League qualifications bringing an arbitration case against the reigning champions.
City rivals United, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal and Newcastle United are among the clubs who have missed out on titles or top four spots in the period spanning the charges and there would be scope for them to prove that they are due compensation for the finances their rivals have missed out on.
Tom Murray, a managing associate at Mishcon de Reya who specialise in financial regulation of sport, told i: “In principle, yes (they could do it). Other Premier League clubs could seek to bring an arbitration against another Manchester City where they can show that they have suffered loss as a result of Manchester City’s alleged breach of the Premier League Rules.
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“The Premier League rules do allow for clubs to invoke arbitration proceedings in relation to decisions of Commissions and Appeal Board, which are the two bodies that will decide upon liability and any sanction in the Man City case.
“To do so, the other Premier League clubs would need to show that they are ‘sufficiently affected’ by the outcome of the dispute that it is ‘right and proper’ for them to have standing before a tribunal.
“This typically requires unusual and exceptional circumstances such as whetherupholding a points deduction will affect whether or not a club wins a title or qualifies for the Champions League.”
i spoke to Premier League executives who had little sympathy for City’s plight and welcomed the independent commission, having feared the issue was being kicked into the long grass.
“About time,” one told i on Tuesday. They felt it would be a “natural consequence” of any guilty verdict that there would be follow up action from rival clubs. They cited Sheffield United’s action against West Ham that followed the latter breaching third party ownership rules when they signed Carlos Tevez. An out of court settlement was reached worth a reported £20m.
City have come out fighting, though, with legal industry magazine The Lawyer reporting they have appointed leading silk Lord Pannick to defend them. They described him as “one of the best barristers of his generation”.
Predictably the case has seen supporters draw battle lines related to their loyalties but football finance expert Kieran Maguire says some should see the bigger picture and question whether Financial Fair Play regulations are really good for the game.
“These charges cover 2009-18. It could be argued that without clubs such as Manchester City the Premier League would have been far less competitive, far more of a procession,” he told i.
“Remember the Premier League was Manchester United and Arsenal until Mansour and Abramovich came along and part of the Premier League’s success has been from new owners coming in and spending a lot of money.
“No Man City or Chelsea fan would deny that without their owners they would not have achieved what they have achieved. But what exactly do people want? If you are Brighton, Palace you would not be getting £100m in TV money every year because you wouldn’t have the same sort of excitement at the top end of the Premier League.
“There’s a lot of double standards from everybody. We’ve got clubs in the Premier League registered in the Cayman Islands, effectively controlled from the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands and so on. Where do you draw the line in terms of good governance and transparency?”
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