The 2024-2025 Premier League season has just started but Manchester City is expected to face many difficulties, possibly even relegation. According to The Athletic, The Citizens are preparing to enter a hearing related to 115 allegations of violating financial balance regulations (FFP). It is expected that the trial will begin in the next few months and end before the end of this season.
If convicted, Man City will face a fine and heavy point deduction. According to the CEO of an unnamed club in the Premier League, point deductions can range from 70 to 80 points, enough to cause The Citizens to be relegated. In other cases, the Premier League organizers can also deduct points for 3 consecutive seasons, to narrow the possibility of the Etihad home team participating in the UEFA Champions League.
The Athletic revealed that an informal meeting between Premier League team CEOs took place before the tournament started. Among them, the issue of 115 allegations of violating Man City's financial balance regulations is of most concern. Most believe that The Citizens' violations will have serious consequences for the financial sustainability of football teams in England and throughout Europe.
In February 2023, the Etihad Stadium team was accused of up to 115 violations of the Financial Fairness Law, starting from when the UAE owners took over the team, until the time the Premier League Organizing Committee conducted an investigation (2008- 2018).
Man City's violations include overstating sponsorship revenue, inaccurate statistics of financial information during Roberto Mancini's leadership (2009-2013), and violating rules on profits and sustainability (2015- 2018). The most numerous of the violations were allegations of excessive financial reporting and refusal to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation.
However, Man City always denies all accusations and firmly asserts financial evidence proving their innocence. The Citizens also said they were surprised by the accusations and wanted to resolve this issue soon.
Previously, in November 2018, Man City was investigated by UEFA after a series of allegations of financial violations from German newspaper Der Spiegel. In February 2020, the green half of Manchester received a ban from participating in European Cups for 2 years. However, the sanction was annulled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) just five months later, ruling that most of the allegations were unsubstantiated or had expired. The Citizens were also only fined 10 million Euros for not cooperating with UEFA investigation organizations.
The Premier League Organizing Committee stipulates that teams that violate the Financial Fair Play Law may have points deducted, demoted or expelled from the tournament depending on the level. Last season, Everton was deducted 8 points for violating profit and sustainability rules for the period 2020-2023. After that, Nottingham Forest was deducted 4 points for the same error.
Therefore, if found guilty, Man City is at risk of being deducted 70-80 points, or even stripped of the championship during the period of violation. Worse, The Citizens could be demoted, or limit their ability to participate in the Champions League next season. That will be a powerful wake-up call for every team about FFP compliance.
