Man City FFP: Expert claims City ‘lies’ could mean ‘far more serious’ punishment

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire reckons Man City will face a “serious” punishment if “they’ve been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances”.

An independent commission hearing to examine 115 charges laid by the Premier League against the Citizens started last month.

The Premier League opened an investigation into Man City way back in 2018 and after a number of legal delays, charges were finally laid in February 2023 and the club were referred to an independent commission.

The charges against the Citizens relate to the requirement to accurately report financial information, including around the value of sponsorship deals, the submission of details of manager and player pay information and to a club’s responsibility as a Premier League member to adhere to UEFA’s financial regulations and to the league’s own profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

They are also accused of failing to co-operate with the league’s investigation. In all, there are charges relating to every season between 2009-10 and 2022-23.

Man City issued a statement strenuously denying the allegations on the day the charges were brought, saying they they welcomed the opportunity for an independent commission “to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of our position”.

The club added: “As such, we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”

And now football finance expert Maguire insists that if Man City are found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules then the punishment should reflect that.

Maguire told Stats Perform : “I think the reason why I say that, and again, I’ve got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction.

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“As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they’ve been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.

“Well, that’s far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it’s a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that’s a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction.”

Maguire added: “My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they’ve not had a sporting advantage.

“You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they’ve been successful on the pitch.

“So, we need an on-field punishment if it’s just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn’t cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don’t think that a points deduction is appropriate.”