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Manchester City’s long-awaited hearing regarding the 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules has officially started today, Monday 16 September

The club faces accusations of breaking these rules over a nine-year period, from 2009 to 2018, and of failing to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.



City has denied all the charges against them.

The independent commission handling the case is expected to hold formal hearings for around ten weeks.

However, due to the complexity and volume of the charges, a decision is unlikely to be made public before the spring of 2025.

The charges include failing to provide accurate financial information and not fully disclosing financial remunerations to one of their managers over a four-year period.

Potential punishments for Manchester City could range from points deductions to even expulsion from the Premier League, as the independent commission has a wide scope in determining appropriate penalties if City is found guilty.

City’s case has been dubbed the “Trial of the Century,” and some rival clubs reportedly believe that a simple points deduction would not be sufficient punishment if they are found guilty.

The outcome of this case is anticipated to be significant, potentially reshaping aspects of the Premier League’s financial governance going forward.

Now Sky Sports have revealed the latest on the trial that started today.

What did Sky Sports report on the Manchester City FFP trial?

Sky Sports senior report Kaveh Solehkol spoke on air this afternoon and broke down the main issues that Manchester City are being accused of:

“These are very, very serious charges – the most serious charges are across nine seasons, Manchester City failed to provide accurate financial information.”

“Also across nine seasons, they failed to provide accurate financial information regarding player and manager contracts.”

“They are accused of breaking UEFA’s financial fair play rules across five seasons.”

Manchester City have been the pre-eminent force in English football since Pep Guardiola took over in 2016.

Reuters.

“They are also accused of breaking the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules across three seasons – and failing to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.”

“So it’s fair to say that this is the biggest trial of its kind that we’ve ever seen in English football.”

The Sky journalist then went on to explain how exactly this investigation Has come about – which has been going on for five years now:

“It all started because a young Portuguese computer expert decided to start hacking into the emails of clubs and agents across Europe, and the information that he illegally accessed ended up in the hands of a German newspaper [der Spiegel].”

When could a resolution be found?

Many eager onlookers from rival clubs will be waiting to see if any updates start to filter through the media now that the trial has officially started.

However, it seems the Sky Sports journalist is sure that no media will be able to get information until after the trial is completed – with Solhekol even revealing where the trial is taking place:

“Unfortunately, we won’t know anything, the journalist said of the ongoing trial.”

“I have a pretty good idea of where the hearing is in London, but the hearing is secret.

Nobody is allowed in there unless you are one of the lawyers.”

The site of the trial according to reports?

This hearing will take about 10 weeks – it could take longer than that – but then I think after that it will take months until we [the public] get the verdict from the commission.”

According to the Daily Mail, the trial is being held at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London, a stone’s throw away from St?
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