Man City enter closing statements in PL trial over 115 rule breach charges

Premier League lawyers were seen arriving for the closing statements of the 'trial of the century' against Manchester City.

City face possible relegation from the Premier League following the 115 charges brought against them for allegedly breaching the English football body's financial rules.

The proceedings, which began in September, were initially shrouded in mystery, before it was later revealed that they were being held at the International Dispute Resolution Center in London (IDRC), near St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London.

With that in mind, on Wednesday we saw Premier League lawyers Andrew Hunter KC and Adam Lewis KC of Blackstone Chambers heading to the center for closing statements.

Should Lewis and his legal team prove that City are guilty of the most serious financial wrongdoing, the club could face serious penalties, such as relegation or a significant points deduction.

All 115 of City's charges will be investigated, assessed and analyzed by an independent committee.

Of these charges, 54 allege City failed to provide accurate and up-to-date financial reports to the league from 2009-10 to 2017-18.

Thirty-five charges related to the club's alleged failure to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation into their conduct between December 2018 and February 2023.

In recent years City have also faced accusations of inflating the value of their sponsorship linked to their owners.

The first allegations of City's financial irregularities came to light in 2018 when German outlet Der Spiegel obtained documents through Football Leaks, a site run by Portuguese computer expert Rui Pinto.

A resolution on City's 115 charges is expected to be reached next spring or summer.

The Premier League side, who have won eight league titles since 2012, are also facing 14 charges for failing to provide accurate reports relating to compensation paid to both players and managers in the same period.

The start of the trial comes almost six years after German news channel Der Speigel published several articles accusing City of the breaches, based on documents obtained from Football Leaks.

On Sunday, Mail Sport exclusively reported that the club had told the stars they had 'nothing to worry about' regarding the club's investigation into the financial breaches.

Defender Aymeric Laporte told this newspaper: 'When I was there and the news broke, the sporting director (Txiki Begiristain) and the CEO (Ferran Soriano) came and told all the players and staff that we can all be very calm because no one rules has been broken by Man City.'

“They told us everything was fine, so that's why we all think City will be fine. I don't think there will be any problems.

'As Pep Guardiola always says, if something has been done wrong, they will have to pay for it.'

Last month, City secured a historic legal victory against the Premier League after judges ruled that some of the league's sponsorship rules are unlawful.

The regulations on Associated Party Transactions (APTs) are intended to prevent companies linked to the owners of football clubs from deliberately paying the odds on deals with the clubs themselves.

The rules were introduced following the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United in an attempt to stop wealthy owners from using these connections to boost their teams' revenues so they can spend more money without breaking financial fair play rules.

In City's case, the rules led to the Premier League rejecting a new sponsorship deal the club signed with Etihad in late 2023, as well as a second deal with an Abu Dhabi-based bank.

A panel of three retired judges ruled that the league was wrong to halt the deals because elements of the APT regulations conflict with the Competition Act.

The decision was seen as a major blow to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters as it will change the direction of the league's future financial governance.

It could even influence future results by making it easier for clubs with super-rich owners to secure lucrative sponsorship deals, and making it easier to buy and sell players between clubs with the same owners.

The panel found that the rules 'by object' breached competition law, a serious and devastating breach.

Although the APT rules were only introduced after the 115 charges period, the panel's findings could well cause panic among City's rivals across the league as concerns have already been raised about costs.