WHAT NOW CITY? THE Q&A

What are the allegations against Manchester City?

The Premier League claim Man City have breached over 100 rules related to club finances. The alleged breaches span a period from the 2009-10 season to the 2017-18 campaign. They concern:

The reporting of accurate financial information including sponsorship revenue.

The submission of details of manager and player pay information.

A club’s responsibility as a Premier League member to adhere to UEFA’S Financial Fair Play regulations.

A club’s responsibility to adhere to the Premier League’s own profitability and sustainability regulations.

The Premier League also alleges City have breached rules requiring member clubs to cooperate with and assist the league with its investigations.

The probe into City’s finances began in December 2018.

What punishments could City be hit with?

Essentially the Premier League have carte blanche all the way up to expelling City from the league. They could also hit City with a hefty enough points deduction to see them relegated or choose to suspend them for a set period of time. A fine running into tens of millions is another potential sanction.

What happens next?

The Premier League will appoint an independent judicial panel to examine the allegations. The chair of the panel is Murray Rosen KC. Hearings will be held in private and, owing to the number of alleged breaches, it could take a very significant amount of time before any decisions are reached and no time limit has been set. If City are found to have broken any rules they are almost certain to appeal, although Premier League regulations mean they cannot take their case forward to the Court of Arbitration for

Sport.