New Delhi, Aug 13
Manchester City's day of reckoning seems to be near as the hearing for the 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations is set to begin September, says a report.
The planned independent commission, which is scheduled to last ten weeks, is set to begin as soon as a month's time. If the side is found guilty of the worst breaches, the defending Premier League chances face the threat of being relegated.
The case is set to begin in September unless there are any legal delays. With the hearing set to last 10 weeks, that would mean that the ruling will be made in early 2025 in the middle of the upcoming Premier League season further raising cause for concern for the side that has won the last four Premier League titles, according to a report by 'The Times'.
The alleged rule violations include failing to submit accurate financial data for nine respective seasons, withholding information about former manager Roberto Mancini's compensation during his four seasons at the team from 2009 to 2013, not co-operating with an investigation and handing over documents as required over five seasons from 2018-19 to 2022-23, and failing to disclose compensation information of former players, including Yaya Toure over the course of six seasons, from 2010 to 2015-16.
In the next two weeks, details surrounding City's legal lawsuit against the Premier League's associated party transactions (APT) rules will be made public. This will allow the hearing on the 115 charges to be held early in addition to the legal proceedings involving the Manucians. It is thought the City has made some progress during the arbitration hearing, the report added.
City were previously banned by the Union of European Football Association's (UEFA) for two years of European competition in 2019 for a breach of Financial Fair Play rules after deeming they'd falsely inflated sponsorship revenues between 2012 and 2016.
Along with the two-year ban, City were also handed a 30 million euros fine, only for that to be overturned in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).