The long- awaited hearing into alleged financial rule-breaking by Manchester City finally gets underway today. Of the 115 charges against the football club, 80 relate to claimed breaches of financial regulations from 2009-2018 and 35 relate to allegedly failing to co-operate with the Premier League’s investigation. The background is that these charges relate to a period following the 2008 takeover by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family.
The independent three-man enquiry will spend at least ten weeks sifting through mountains of evidence. It is important to state here that Manchester City strenuously deny any wrong doing.
Remember, Everton and Nottingham Forest were hit with points deductions for one single breach of the regulations. Wild estimations of 100 point deductions if guilty, expulsion from the league, relegation to league 2 are just speculation at this stage.
Whatever the outcome, the important thing is trusting the process. If we as football fans are to continue supporting our own teams, with seemingly half the world paying for Sky Sports’ coverage that pays the clubs mega millions, then the ‘consumers’ must come out of this feeling justice has been done, and been seen to be done.
West Ham are mired in their own FA investigation with Lucas Paqueta standing accused in the ‘bets for bookings’ affair and Hammers fans have waited months for any news as the whole issue hangs over the player, his family, the club and supporters. Whatever the outcome, confidence in the process is required for the sport to move on. Do we have that confidence at present? Different body, FA instead of Premier League. Same contorted, drawn out process behind closed doors.
Will the Manchester City issue be any different, I wonder. There is a detailed breakdown of the issue published by the BBC here and if you are a football fan, go read it.
The risk, depending on the outcome, is of the Premier League itself losing credibility or Manchester City’s achievements being forever tarnished. I fear we could end up in a situation where Manchester City, if found guilty, are just deemed ‘too big to fail’ as the consequences of banning, demoting, re-awarding trophies and titles simply doesn’t bear thinking about: Plus of course other clubs may then have claims for damages against City. Years of discrediting, legal appeals, and who knows- breakaway leagues – the future is pretty uncertain. In my humblest uninformed opinion.
Whatever the outcome, the whole integrity of the sport which millions of us love and support is at stake here: A ‘whitewash’ just won’t do.