Manchester City and the Premier League have been waiting 14 months for a verdict in a lawsuit over the club’s 115 alleged breaches of financial rules.
Manchester City face harsh penalties if found guilty (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Football finance experts say Manchester City could face a 40-60 point deduction if they are found guilty of the most serious charges. City and the Premier League are awaiting a verdict on 115 alleged financial irregularities committed by the club between 2009 and 2018.
The hearing into City’s alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules concluded in December 2024 after a 12-week court session, but the independent panel has yet to publish its findings. The city denies wrongdoing and is understood to be confident of being acquitted.
It has already been 14 months since the court and the committee is still deliberating. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has been closely following the case and said an estimated 500,000 pieces of evidence had been presented in court by the defense and prosecution.
Maguire believes a verdict should be handed down within the next few months, with City and the Premier League likely to be notified 24 hours before the decision is published. He said it’s impossible to predict the outcome, but recent case law shows how severe the consequences could be if things go in the wrong direction for the City.
Join us on Facebook! For the latest news, analysis and more on our Mirror Football Facebook page
read more: Man City impose 115 extra charges after former Premier League chief uncovers important tipsread more: Jeff Stelling makes an emotional return to his old role days after taking a break from speaking SPORT
“The Premier League cannot relegate Manchester City to League One or League Two. It is the EFL’s decision and Manchester City should be deducted points because no charges have been proven by the EFL,” Maguire explained in the Overlap Fans debate.
“If you look at precedent, Everton and Nottingham Forest have been given six and four penalty points for a single offense over a three-year period. The charges against Manchester City span nine years, so the amount is much higher. We’re not sure of the figures involved, but it’s probably quite significant.”
“So I think we have to add a zero to the result for Forest and Everton. So I think a deduction of somewhere between 40 and 60 points is logically in line with what we have seen from other decisions, based on merit. If they want to go further, we don’t know the severity of that.”
Make mirrors your first choice. Click here to enable or add us as a preferred source in your Google search settings
Manchester City’s Premier League success is under the microscope
“The Forest and Everton incident was purely about FFP (Financial Fair Play), which is why the accusations against Manchester City are taking so long. Corporate fraud is a very serious allegation. The board will have to go. How can you be in a boardroom with the rest of the Premier League and the Premier League itself, of which you are a shareholder, when this allegation has been proven?”
“If you look at what happened with Juventus in Serie A, claims about player salaries were proven to be false and the board had to resign. I think there is integrity here if Manchester City are proven guilty, and that could mean a complete restructuring of the club.”
The delays have caused much frustration due to the complexity of the case and the need for the three-person committee to deliberate together.
“Judging by the fraud-like cases, I think we’re probably in the final stages of getting a verdict,” Maguire added. “I think part of the problem is that you have three very senior people on the phone to make the final decision, and it’s actually very difficult to get those three people together at the same time, and that’s slowing down the litigation.
“It should be resolved within the next few months, which I’ve said before. But there’s a lot of evidence to consider and the charges are very serious, so we need a lot of evidence.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports Premier League and EFL package discounts
£49
£35
sky
Get the deal here
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 on their bill and offering more than 1,400 live matches from Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League games this season, with an increase of up to 100 more.
