Why has the Man City 115 charges case taken so long?

Manchester City and the Premier League are awaiting the verdict after a hearing into the 115 charges the club have faced since February 2023.

The charges relate to a number of alleged rule breaches by City between 2009 and 2018.

The number of charges and severity of the accusations are among the reasons the case has taken as long as it has.

“The word ‘unprecedented’ is often used more than it should be in the footballing world, but in this case it really is justified,” said lawyer Simon Leaf – head of sport at Mishcon de Reya.

City’s hearing started in September 2024 and lasted 10 weeks. In February 2025, manager Pep Guardiola said the club expected to learn the verdict “within one month”.

Six months on, the outcome is yet to be made public.

“We have never seen anything like this type of case in the history of English football and arguably in world football,” added Leaf.

The 115 charges have been broken down to five different categories.

• 54x Failure to provide accurate financial information 2009-10 to 2017-18.

• 14x Failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18.

• 5x Failure to comply with Uefa’s rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) 2013-14 to 2017-18.

• 7x Breaching Premier League’s PSR rules 2015-16 to 2017-18.

• 35x Failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations December 2018 – Feb 2023.

The lengths City went to in their defence appear to have prolonged matters.

“The legal teams involved… I’m pretty sure the Premier League has never come up against anything like this,” said Yasin Patel – barrister at Church Court Chambers.

“The team of lawyers Manchester City have assembled… call it a super team if you want.

“There’s a lot riding on it for the Premier League as well as Manchester City.”

There have been suggestions by the Times and football finance expert Kieran Maguire the number of charges is as high as 130.

“I think the Premier League will have been taken aback, as well as the arbitration panel really, how Manchester City have come with their defence,” added Patel.

A lot of football fans have drawn comparisons to the cases brought by the Premier League against Nottingham Forest and Everton respectively over breaches to Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

During the 2023-24 season, both clubs were docked points for making more losses than they were permitted to for the three-year period from the 2020-21 to 2022-23 seasons.

Those cases were of a single charge, were easier to decipher and involved significantly less evidence.

“The Forest and Everton cases were, to a certain extent, very clear-cut. They were an open-and-shut case,” said Maguire.

“There was 50,000 pieces of evidence put forward by both parties.

“In the case of Manchester City, you’re going to have to multiply that by probably a factor of 10, so we could be looking at half a million pieces of evidence, which have to be reflected upon by the three people in the commission.

“They’re also in demand in their own jobs so trying to get them around a table on a regular basis isn’t necessarily easy and that’s why eight months later we’re still not really further down the road in terms of a conclusion to the evidence referral and then making a verdict.”

Earlier this month, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said the process had “gone on for far too long”.

In response, Premier League CEO Richard Masters told BBC Sport: “The only point where I can speak publicly about it is when a decision has been handed down.

“I can’t speculate about why or when, that’s all I can say really. Daniel is not in the same position as me and I can’t talk about it.”

While there is frustration among many football supporters that a verdict has not been made public, those involved will know the importance of getting it right.

“The latest rumours, and they are nothing but rumours, is we could be waiting until around about October before a verdict,” said Maguire.

“There has been a complete lockdown. There are no leaks. I think this is indicative of the level of professionalism of the people who are on the commission.”

Patel was clear a verdict would not be rushed.

He said: “I suppose the public message from the panel will be: ‘We are trying to get this decision as quickly as possible so we can get this over and done with.’

“None of the fans are going to believe that.

“No matter how much the fans jump up and down all around the country, I’m afraid no panel is going to be rushed.”

Patel also thinks the longer the wait, the “better it is for Manchester City”.

“We all know what some of the potential penalties are, in particular points deductions, and I would have thought they would have given them by now,” he added.

Whoever comes out on top – be it the Premier League or Manchester City – it is almost certain the verdict will not bring the saga to an end.

If the Premier League wins, clubs who have perhaps lost titles or in cup competitions to City during the period covered by the charges may claim for loss of earnings, be it through prize money or competitions they failed to qualify for.

If City win, they could claim for damages caused as a result of the case.

“Whatever comes out of it, I’m afraid that’s not the end of the title race for both parties here,” said Patel. “This is a two-horse race that’s going to carry on.”

“Whatever verdict comes out, I wouldn’t think that’s the end of it. I would appeal, whether I was on one side or the other.”

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