Manchester City won their fourth consecutive Premier League title last month and their sixth in seven years. The final-day home victory against West Ham by 3-1 secured the title for Pep Guardiola’s men at the expense of Arsenal.
Man City had a chance to do a domestic double on the following weekend but lost the FA Cup final against neighbors Manchester United 2-1. Despite the success, City seem to be involved in an off-field battle and have decided to take the Premier League to court.
Manchester City Sue Premier League Amid 115 Charges
Manchester City have been hit with 115 charges against them for financial irregularity which include:
• 54x Not providing accurate financial information from 2009-10 to 2017-18.
• 14x Not providing accurate details of payments for players and managers from 2009-10 to 2017-18.
• 5x Not complying with UEFA’s rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) 2013-14 to 2017-18.
• 7x Breaching Premier League’s PSR rules from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
• 35x Not cooperating with Premier League investigations from December 2018 – Feb 2023.
Manchester City have now decided to sue the Premier League as they are taking legal action against the organization regarding the sponsorship and commercial deals. After Newcastle United’s takeover by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, the rules were introduced to prevent clubs from inflating commercial deals with their owner’s companies.
According to the reports from ‘The Times‘ City argues that the rules are unlawful and seek damage due to the revenue lost as a result of these rules. It has also been reported that Premier League has offered the other 19 clubs to be witnesses of the case which Man City has labelled as ‘discrimination’ and “a tyranny of the majority”.
Everton were also accused of breaching Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) for 2021-22 and were deducted 10 points in November. “During the proceedings, the club admitted it was in breach of the PSRs for the period ending season 2021/22 but the extent of the breach remained in dispute,” Premier League said.
However, following a successful appeal, the deduction was reduced to six. In January 2024, Everton was charged again for the same offense receiving another 2-point deduction.
City are also against the APT rules claiming that the Premier League is far more restrictive than the UEFA. There have been mixed opinions from the clubs with likes of Aston Villa, Chelsea, and Newcastle in favor of Manchester City while Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal strongly opposing the champions.
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
