A new report has revealed the expected ‘timeline’ of Manchester City’s Financial Fair Play case as the hearing is expected to ‘end this week’.
At the start of 2023, Man City were charged with breaching over 100 of the Premier League’s FFP charges. This followed a four-year probe into their conduct between 2009 and 2018.
Pep Guardiola‘s side have insisted on their innocence and it remains to be seen whether they will be punished for their alleged breaches. If found guilty, they could be given a huge fine, points deduction, transfer ban or expulsion from the Premier League.
Earlier this year, Man City battled back against the Premier League as they campaigned for the removal of Associated Party Transaction (APT rules.
This case has already concluded and if successful, it would have dramatically altered Man City’s FFP situation. While a couple of aspects of the APT rules were deemed unlawful, the regulations remain intact after Premier League rivals voted in favour of the amended rules.
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The FFP hearing remains ongoing, but a new report from The Independent claims this case is due to ‘end this week’.
The report has ‘revealed the timeline for the long-awaited outcome’ as ‘lawyers make their closing arguments in the Manchester City hearing’. It is noted that the case ‘is scheduled to conclude this week and an outcome is anticipated in February’.
It is also claimed that the case has ‘gone to schedule so far’ and ‘one notable aspect’ is brought up.
‘Although there is the possibility for remaining delays, the case has gone to schedule so far, and is seen within the Premier League as having been run in a highly disciplined manner.
‘There has been considerable will in the competition to have it finally settled this season, but the likelihood of appeals from either side could mean it runs into the 2025-26 campaign.
‘The hearing has gone exactly according to schedule so far, having started on 17 September.
‘Very little information has come out due to the stakes and considerable discretion of all involved but one notable aspect has been the sheer number of lawyers involved.’
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The report has also commented on the likelihood of Man City being expelled from the Premier League.
‘Even if the most serious charges are not proven, however, there is an expectation that City will have to be punished on non-compliance given that Premier League regulations demand that clubs participate in investigations. This was what they were primarily punished for in the controversial Court of Arbitration case of June 2020, that saw an initial Uefa Champions League ban overturned due to technicalities.
‘While a minority within the Premier League are pushing for expulsion if the most serious charges are proven, that is currently seen as an unlikely possibility. Such an outcome would require a special shareholders meeting and vote of 15.
‘That is not expected to be a situation witnessed this season, however, due to the near certainty that one of the sides will appeal the outcome.’