It’s been three years since Manchester City were first accused by the Premier League, but they are no closer to a verdict in the protracted case.
The delay in bringing charges is unfair to Pep, City or anyone else (Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
Three years on, Manchester City’s verdict seems further away than ever. It was on February 6, 2023, that the Premier League handed down 115 charges (probably the most likely, though closer to 130) against City for breaching the rules.
Since then, we have experienced massive litigation, public hearings, false dawns, protests, and sheer anger and outrage over delayed judgments. In my view, this brings the entire Premier League into disrepute.
This is an embarrassment, a stain on the top flight of English football and leaves us all questioning what to believe. City, of course, continue with business as usual, with Josep Guardiola consistently publicly supporting the club’s stance that they will be exempted from punishment.
And the rest of us can only speculate as to whether City will be innocent or guilty, relegated, points deducted or handed a hefty fine.
It’s so wrong that it’s taking so long. That would be unfair to City, let alone their rivals. It’s not fair for every fan of every club in every match.
read more: Expert predicts points deduction due to relegation, Man City 115 claim latest chargesread more: Arsenal, Man City warned over title decision: ‘Not genuine contenders’
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Imagine if City led Arsenal to the title this season and then picked up more points to make Arsenal champions. No one wants to win the league that way.
Similarly, what about the season in which City beat Liverpool to the post? The earliest charges date back more than a decade and predate Pep. How can you say that’s fair to everyone, including Pep?
This accusation now seems so distant that it is in danger of becoming obsolete. Honestly, if they’re that bad, why does it take so long to reach a conclusion? It makes you feel like there’s no way they can’t be that bad.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire suggested the Premier League may regret making so many accusations. This is because litigation inevitably becomes protracted and drawn out when it could have focused on the strongest accusations.
It’s worth remembering that the Premier League always aims to set deadlines and would like to deal with incidents within the season.
Josep Guardiola’s contract runs until 2027 (Image: Getty Images)
That said, even Leicester’s very simple PSR breaches have been lengthy, with the full text documented by the independent commission running to 100 pages as of this week’s publication. That’s one case. We are in talks with Citi about more than 100 people.
And importantly, this matter is currently outside of the Premier League’s control. Upon filing the complaint, they immediately referred it to an independent commission, which was also taken out of the City’s hands. Lawyers, barristers, thorough hearings and evidence.
There are some crazy theories floating around about this announcement, which was made during various international holidays. Last March. It was then postponed until the summer. Then it was probably October. Several journalists were preparing for it to take place just before Christmas.
But if you step back for a second and think about how farcical that is… would they do it during an international vacation just to fit the news agenda? Can you give me something to fill up the page? What nonsense.
That would give City time to digest, but we feel we are past that point. They continue to operate as usual, but are the newly signed players worried about the charges? Of course not. It has just become commonplace and accepted.
We had several quick departures. Tottenham player Daniel Levy. Tim Lewis of Arsenal. Both executives tended to be the loudest voices in the room when it came to City at Premier League general meetings. Did their departure smooth out City’s exit?
The uncertainty this has created has people scrambling for clues and glimmers of insight. There is talk in the football world that City believe the worst-case scenario is a fine. But let’s stop this and get this over with.
I can’t believe it’s been three years already. Personally, I think Guardiola is the best manager of the Premier League era. He deserves the utmost respect. City’s soccer is great. But each trophy also comes with a caveat in our coverage… They are still waiting for the verdict.
It’s wrong and unfair for City and for the other teams in the Premier League. They should never have been involved in this process if it was taking this long. That would be too damaging for everyone.
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