Premier League lawyers have been seen arriving for final statements in Manchester City’s “trial of the century”.
City faces possible relegation from the Premier League due to 115 charges for allegedly violating the English football body’s financial rules.
The process, which began in September, was initially shrouded in mystery, before it was later revealed that it was taking place at London’s International Dispute Resolution Center (IDRC), which is near St Paul’s Cathedral in the city of London.
On Wednesday, Premier League lawyers Andrew Hunter KC and Adam Lewis KC of Blackstone Chambers were seen making its way to the center for closing statements.
If Lewis and his legal team prove City guilty of the most serious financial violations, the club could face severe punishments such as relegation or a significant points deduction.
The City’s 115 charges will be investigated, reviewed and analyzed by an independent commission.
Manchester City are entering the final stages of their trial over 115 alleged breaches of financial rules.
Manchester City lawyer Lord David Pannick has been leading the club’s dispute
Of those charges, 54 are allegations that City failed to provide accurate and up-to-date financial reports to the league between 2009-10 and 2017-18.
Thirty-five charges related to the club’s alleged failure to cooperate with the Premier League investigation into his conduct between December 2018 and February 2023.
In recent years, City have also faced accusations of inflating the value of their sponsorships linked to their owners.
The first accusations of City’s financial irregularities came to light in 2018, when the German outlet Der Spiegel obtained documents through Football Leaks, a site run by Portuguese computer genius Rui Pinto.
A resolution on City’s 115 charges is expected to be reached in the spring or summer of next year, but Mail Sport reported that a likely appeal either way could take the case beyond the end of next season.
The Premier League team, which has won eight league titles since 2012, also faces 14 charges of failing to provide accurate reports in relation to compensation paid to players and coaches during the same period.
The start of the trial comes almost six years after the German media outlet Der Speigel published several articles accusing City of violations based on documents obtained from Football Leaks.
In September, Mail Sport exclusively reported that the club had told the stars they had “nothing to worry about” in relation to the club’s lawsuit over financial violations.
A verdict on Manchester City’s 115 charges is not expected until spring or summer 2025.
Thirty-five of the 115 charges are for alleged failure to cooperate with the investigation.
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Defender Aymeric Laporte, who now plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, told this newspaper: “When I was there and the news broke, the sporting director (Txiki Begiristain) and the general director (Ferran Soriano) came and told him. They told all the players and staff that we can all be very calm because Man City has not broken any rules.
“They told us that everything was fine and that’s why we all think that City will be fine.” I don’t think there is any problem.
“As Pep Guardiola always says, if something has been done wrong, they will have to pay for it.”
Last month, City won a historic legal victory against the Premier League after judges ruled some of the competition’s sponsorship rules are illegal.
The Associated Party Transactions (APT) regulations aim to prevent companies associated with football club owners from deliberately paying more than the odds for deals with the clubs themselves.
The rules were introduced following the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United in an attempt to prevent wealthy owners from using these connections to increase their teams’ income so they can spend more money without breaking financial fair play rules.
In the case of City, the rules led the Premier League to reject a new Sponsorship agreement the club had signed with Etihad at the end of 2023, as well as a second agreement with an Abu Dhabi-based bank.
A panel of three retired judges ruled that the league was wrong to stop the deals because elements of the APT rules violate the Competition Law.
In October, City won their legal challenge against the Premier League’s sponsorship rules.
The decision was seen as a blow to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters because it will change the direction of the league’s future financial governance.
It could even affect future results by making it easier for clubs with super-rich owners to enter into lucrative sponsorship deals, as well as making it easier for clubs with the same owners to buy and sell players.
The panel found that the rules violated competition law “by object”, a serious and damning breach.
While the APT rules were introduced after the period involved in the 115 charges, the panel’s findings may well cause panic among City’s rivals across the league, with concerns already raised about costs.