Are City close to a charge by the PL?

THE Premier League have appointed ‘subject matter experts’ for the ultra-secretive three-year legal investigation into Manchester City’s finances, which suggests the Financial Fair Play battle between the Premier League champions and the authorities is reaching its protracted final stage.

‘Subject matter experts’ are expert witnesses that explain the context of detail within a case and according to one Premier League legal expert they would normally be appointed in anticipation of a charge being made, but there is no confirmation from City or the Premier League that they have been charged with any offence.

Indeed, both parties have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep the battle secret. It was sparked by Der Spiegel’s publication of leaked emails, which suggested that City’s commercial figures were inflated by Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group to circumnavigate Financial Fair Play rules.

That led to City being charged by UEFA and the Premier League investigating in March 2019. City were initially banned from the Champions League by UEFA’s Financial Control Body in February 2020 but that decision was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in July 2020, as much of the evidence fell outside of a time limit. CAS decided the case against City hadn’t been established by the emails within the five-year limit.

It was the CAS ruling that helped allay manager Pep Guardiola’s fears, after the Catalan sought assurances from the City hierarchy about the club’s financial conduct.

However, the Premier League rules aren’t necessarily bound by a five-year statute of limitations mentioned by CAS and City have been obliged by a Commercial Court ruling to provide documents. In a complex legal case, City have challenged the Premier League’s right to investigate them and their duty to release documents.

The Premier League has always said it will only comment once the case has been concluded and declined to comment, as did City. The club always insisted that the leaked emails were taken ‘out of context’ and were ‘purportedly hacked or stolen’, adding that ‘the attempt to damage the club’s reputation is organised and clear’.