Author: dmitriy.vasyura@gmail.com

Man City and the Abu Dhabi government could call in “political favours” in order to end their financial fair play case, according to former Everton CEO Keith Wyness.

A hearing to examine 115 Premier League charges issued against the club began on September 16 with the Citizens’ legal team pictured arriving at the IDRC, close to St Paul’s Cathedral in central London.

The charges facing Man City, who won a fourth straight Premier League title in May, date back as far as the 2009-10 season.

It is thought the club, who are also accused of failing to co-operate with an investigation, could face a range of punishments including a severe points penalty or even expulsion from the Premier League if found guilty.

Man City were charged by the league in February 2023 after a long investigation into allegations published by German magazine Der Spiegel in autumn 2018.

The Premier League club deny any wrongdoing and have previously said they have a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” to support their stance.

The hearing is reported to have been scheduled for 10 weeks, with the independent commission’s verdict initially not expected until the new year.

And now ex-Everton CEO Wyness has suggested that the Abu Dhabi government could “step in” and use political means to squash the case.

Wyness told Football Insider: “There’s no doubt that if Abu Dhabi stepped in then all these issues would be involved very quickly. The Premier League may say they’ve had no contact with the government, but we should be under no illusions that this is a big situation.

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“What was interesting in the new football bill from the government is the exclusion of lines around having to take decisions in the interest of Britain’s trade. It was interesting that this was dropped. The regulator won’t be tasked with that any longer.

“You’ve always got to wonder: When we’re dealing with sovereign states like Saudi Arabia or the UAE, do political implications get involved with football decisions? I’m a big proponent in keeping politics out of football, but it’s inextricably linked.

“I hope there is no leaning in any way at all on the Premier League with the punishments if City are found guilty. I think the government would love it if there were no penalties at all.

“But if you’re a government and you own a club like Man City, you’re going to try any sort of political move you can – and that includes calling in any political favours.

“So let’s wait and see how these develops. There are stories aplenty that could come out of this. If something doesn’t seem right in the end, it probably won’t be right. We’ll have to keep a close eye on this.”

“Horodenko's Probiy leads the Ukrainian Second League and reached the 1/8 finals of the Ukrainian Cup in its debut professional season. The team won 8 league matches and won three cup games.

Leadership in the Second League of the Ukrainian Championship and reaching the 1/8 finals of the Ukrainian Football Cup are the results of the first part of the 2024-25 football season for Proboi, which received the status of a professional club less than six months ago.

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Following the first part of the season, Probiy shared first place in its group with Rukh-2 from Lviv, scoring 26 points in 12 matches (8 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses). In the Ukrainian Cup, the team reached the 1/8 finals. And the very fact of reaching the 1/8 finals is already a great success for the Second League team, which only this year began its journey in professional football. In total, Horodenka's players played 4 games in the Ukrainian Cup, winning three of them, including the Premier League, and narrowly losing to the Bukovyna from Chernivtsi with a score of 0:1.

At the beginning of the season, we could not even dream of such results. Reaching the 1/8 finals of the Ukrainian Cup and leading the league is a real breakthrough for our team. Of course, we would like to go further in the Cup, we always want to bring victories to our fans. But the main thing is that in this first year of playing professional football, we have shown and proved that we have a team that can achieve results. I thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the team's partners for the opportunity to play and bring joy to our fans

– says Volodymyr Kovaliuk, coach of the Probiy sports club.

The Perspectives branch of MHP's Western Hub, together with its strategic partner, the MHP for Community Charitable Foundation, has been a partner of NC Probiy for many years. Stable financial support from the partners helps the team's management to carry out high-quality management at the club: recruitment of experienced coaches and specialists, professional players, training camps, preparation of the stadium for home games, rental of transport for away matches, photo and video broadcasting of live games, etc.

At MHP, we are convinced that sport is not only a competition, but also a powerful tool for uniting people and developing young people. We understand how important the Probiy team is for the community, so we are happy to support them. The team's success is evidence of the effectiveness of our joint efforts with the community and partners

– emphasizes Viktor Koryagin, Director of MHP Western Hub.

According to reports, Tottenham Hotspur are ‘in touch’ with Jack Grealish’s representatives as they look to prize him away from Manchester City.

Man City invested around £100m to sign England international Grealish from Premier League rivals Aston Villa during the 2021 summer transfer window.

Grealish endured a difficult debut season, but he shone for Man City during the 2022/23 campaign as Pep Guardiola’s side won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.

Despite this, the winger has endured a rough 18 months as he has been negatively impacted by the arrivals of Jeremy Doku and Savinho.

Grealish – who is without a goal in his seven Premier League appearances this season – has also struggled with injuries and is being linked with an exit.

READ: Premier League benchwarmers who deserve a chance: (Nearly) one per club

Earlier this week, a report claimed Man City are ready to sell Grealish and ‘sign a big name’ replacement. Former Man Utd scout Mick Brown expects the Premier League holders to sell him next year.

“I’m not sure about Jack Grealish,” Brown said. “He’s been in and out of the team again this season and he’s not a regular feature there.

“They’re happy with what Doku and Savinho bring to the side.

“I’ve heard City could look to sign a big-name winger as they feel the squad could be strengthened in that position – that would be for next summer. But then where does Grealish fit in the squad? He’d be facing even fewer starts.

“I think, if they do sign a new option, they could look to move him out to make space. They might want to make some money back on him. He’s on big wages as well so that would free up some of the budget.

“I’m sure it’s something he’d be open to as well because he wants to play football – I know Jack from his time at Villa and he’s always wanted to play regular games.”

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A new report from Football Transfers claims Spurs sporting director Johan Lange have been ‘in touch with Grealish’s representatives over a possible move’.

Lange’s positive relationship with Grealish could reportedly help Tottenham after they came ‘very close’ to signing the experienced winger in the summer.

‘The club’s sporting director Johan Lange came very close to signing the winger over the summer, we are told, and now the club are back speaking to Grealish’s representatives to discuss his current situation, and a potential move to Spurs.

‘It’s our understanding that Lange was instrumental in the €117.5 million transfer that took Grealish to Manchester City during his time as sporting director of Aston Villa. The winger remained especially appreciative of how Lange handled that move, helping it go as smoothly as possible, and the pair have maintained a good relationship since.

‘With Spurs looking to bring in competition for Son Heung-min and James Maddison in the January window and Grealish is considered as a versatile option who could strengthen both positions, potentially saving the club money.

‘Grealish had spoken with Spurs over a move during the summer window, but ultimately he wanted to fight for his spot in City’s starting XI. At the time, there was also a £3 million gap in wages between Daniel Levy and the attacker.’

Natalia Matsupko won the Ironman competition in Florida, covering the distance in 9 hours and 19 minutes. The athlete showed the best result among women in all three disciplines: swimming, cycling and marathon.

Ukrainian Natalia Matsupko triumphs at the prestigious Ironman in Florida. This was reported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, UNN reports.

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Ukrainian triathlete Nataliia Matsupko has overcome one of the most difficult courses in the world of triathlon with a time of 9 hours 19 minutes and 51 seconds. At the Florida stage, Natalia confidently finished first among women, setting a high result in each discipline: she completed the swim (3.86 km) in 56 minutes and 17 seconds, the bike stage (180.2 km) in 4 hours 40 minutes and 54 seconds, and the final marathon run (42.2 km) in 3 hours 34 minutes and 50 seconds.

Matsupko is also known to be a guide for Ukrainian paratriathlete Vita Oleksiuk, supporting her at international competitions.

Ironman in Florida is one of the most famous tests of endurance and strength, where athletes run courses with a clearly defined time limit that cannot be exceeded at any stage.

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