Legal experts predict that Premier League club Manchester City’s likely appeal of its guilty verdict could “extend the process by years rather than months,” according to Lawton & Ziegler of the London TIMES. The club was found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial regulations. Manchester City have “always been prepared for such an outcome, with two formidable barristers leading their defence team.” The three-member independent commission for Man City’s case was “appointed by Murray Rosen KC,” the independent chairman of the Premier League judicial panel. The same panel “would hear any potential compensation claim from a rival club.” Legal experts have said that a “different panel would hear any City appeal, with both parties involved in the appointment process.” And it is before the appeal panel that the “fiercest legal battle will be fought,” with Man City “expected to challenge just about every aspect of the original verdict.” However, the verdict “could open the way for other clubs to each claim” more than $265M (£200M) in compensation. Four clubs — Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur — served legal notices on City in 2024. Sources involved in that process said that “some of the clubs had calculated potential losses as compensation for missing out on the Champions League and other potential income.” That could “rise to a much higher figure to take interest into account” (London TIMES, 9/26).
NEXT UP: Lawton & Ziegler in a separate piece wrote the next step in the process will be for the independent commission to “hold a sanctions hearing at which both the Premier League, acting as the prosecution, and City can make representations.” Once the outcome of that hearing is announced, City and the Premier League can “both lodge appeals if they wish.” Sources said that it would be “highly unusual for City to attempt to appeal against the verdicts before the sanctions were announced” (London TIMES, 9/26).
POSSIBLE BRANCHES: BBC.com’s Dale Johnson noted four “possible scenarios” for the Premier League following the ruling. The first scenario is that “nothing is announced this season on punishments.” As the charges have been denied, it will “have to go to a sanction hearing convened by the independent panel.” This hearing “could still be months away, and the result may not be published until the appeal is completed.” A second scenario could be that Man City’s punishment is “levied this season but they appeal.” The “usual process” when any points penalty is handed down is that it is applied immediately, subject to appeal. Ordinarily a club would have 14 days to appeal, but in this case, the “complexities indicate this is not straightforward.” The third scenario is that an “appeal is heard quickly and full decision announced.” This “would need to happen sooner rather than later.” The Premier League “does not want this to drag on until the penultimate month of the season,” but “nothing is guaranteed in this story.” The fourth scenario could be that “even after the case is closed, this is not over.” Premier League clubs are “seeking legal advice about compensation from Manchester City over the case.” A source said that said they “expected clubs to submit individual compensation claims against Manchester City” (BBC.com, 9/27).
GEARING UP: In London, Sam Wallace noted in September 2024, only four clubs were even prepared to instruct their own legal counsel to notify City Football Group that they “reserved the right to seek compensation in the event of the Premier League charges being upheld.” Wallace: “It does not say much about the commitment of the rest, and you would be hard-pressed to say that even among the four that did, the conviction to go through with it has grown in the interim.” Of those four clubs that did reserve the right to seek compensation in 2024, two are now under “radically different leadership.” Wallace: “One might have expected clubs to be readying themselves for a reckoning with CFG once all this is over. … That only four agreed to do so says much” (London TELEGRAPH, 9/27). In London, Miguel Delaney wrote if Man City are “indeed found guilty of the most serious charges, the regulator could push for the removal of key figures.” Some in soccer are even “broaching the idea of a forced sale due to the severity of the case,” given that this would be “perceived as the greatest case of cheating in English football history.” Delaney: “It should not be forgotten that this is ultimately about the allegation of submitting false accounting” (London INDEPENDENT, 9/25).