‘All hell could break loose’ as Man City are likely to hear the verdict in their FFP case in mid-November, according to experts.
An independent commission hearing to examine 115 charges laid by the Premier League against Man City started in September 2024 and ended in December 2024.
The Premier League opened an investigation into Man City way back in 2018 and after a number of legal delays, charges were finally laid in February 2023 and the club were referred to an independent commission.
The charges against the Citizens relate to the requirement to accurately report financial information, including around the value of sponsorship deals, the submission of details of manager and player pay information and to a club’s responsibility as a Premier League member to adhere to UEFA’s financial regulations and to the league’s own profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
They are also accused of failing to co-operate with the league’s investigation. In all, there are charges relating to every season between 2009-10 and 2022-23.
Man City issued a statement strenuously denying the allegations on the day the charges were brought, saying they they welcomed the opportunity for an independent commission “to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of our position.”
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The club added: “As such, we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”
Pep Guardiola revealed in February that he was expecting to learn the verdict in March but that prediction is now over six months out of date.
The I Paper has now revealed that ‘experts are braced for a decision to drop in mid-November – possibly in a week that coincides with the next international break’.
A source has told The i Paper: “Everyone just wants a verdict now and some certainty over what comes next.”
They added: “It’s gone very quiet and because it’s been going on for so long it’s almost been forgotten about but all hell could break loose when it lands.”
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Football finance expert Stefan Borson has previously stated: “There’s no real excuse for a further delay. Even if the panel were busy on other matters, and they would have been, then I think it would be really quite extraordinary that there’s been no timetable set with them and no arrangement set with them in terms of the payment of their time over these last ten months to produce the decision by a given date.
“I think on any basis 10 months is enough to produce even a very, very detailed 400 or 500-page decision on this case, and I think it is imminent.”