The latest on Manchester City's 115 financial charges case, including when a verdict could be delivered and potential punishments ranging from 40 to 60 points
A general view inside the Etihad Stadium
A decision is yet to be announced over Manchester City's 115 charges of alleged financial breaches (Image: PA)
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Manchester City's wait for an answer following their legal battle with the Premier League over their alleged 115 charges continues. Different timelines have emerged regarding when a decision might be announced, with Newcastle United among the clubs watching on.
The Independent's Miguel Delaney is among those suggesting the Easter period or summer could bring an end to the wait, though no official timeframe has been confirmed. Should the club be found guilty, various sanctions have been discussed, with the most recent suggestion being a 60-point deduction.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has previously stated that Man City could face a points penalty of 40-60 points if found guilty of multiple breaches in their 115-charge case.
City got a glimpse of the potential ramifications when Chelsea were handed a £ 10 million fine despite co-operating with the process. Almost 18 months ago, a 12-week hearing between City's legal team and the Premier League occurred, with the football world still awaiting the final decision.
City were charged with 115 breaches of financial regulations, although the actual number is thought to be nearer 130. The club strongly deny any wrongdoing.
With all of this in mind, below are the latest developments on City's financial charges case, which includes a timeline, punishment indication and significant points deduction suggestion.
Timings
In mid-March, the Athletic reported that anonymous sources from both sides of the case have not received any updates from the independent panel regarding timings.
However, The Independent's Miguel Delaney disclosed earlier this week, via the 'Libero' podcast, that his latest understanding was that the outcome would be revealed over Easter, but it has now been pushed back to the summer.
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Chelsea's case concerning illicit payments has shifted the focus away from City in recent weeks, with the club's new ownership model working with UEFA towards a resolution. Despite this, it still took three years for a decision to be reached.
Chelsea's situation was also discussed on the Libero podcast, with Delaney revealing that "multiple executives from the Premier League are saying that there is potential legal precedence from this case that City's lawyers will be licking their lips at".
Claim of '60-point deduction'
Former City defender Richard Dunne has delivered a forthright response to speculation that City could face a 60-point deduction. Speaking to Goal, he said: "It's been ridiculous already, the amount of time that it's dragged on. They've come to a conclusion a long time ago, so why it's taken so long to get around to giving out their results of what they found is stupid.
"I mean, it just undermines the whole Premier League if they start coming out now at this stage of the season and you've got the opportunity of a real interesting title race over the next couple of months.
"So, they're ruining their own competition if they come out and start making decisions now. It's something that's best left until the summer and they can work out what they're going to do going forward rather than retrospectively."
He continued: "I can imagine for Manchester City it's been really undermining because it's just been dragging along with them. It's followed them around and for myself and for other ex-players, or anyone that's associated with the club, you do interviews and it's always about, 'but what about this FFP thing?'.
"Man City have got so much going for them in terms of they just won the Carabao Cup, they constantly produce really good players that play a really good style of football and everyone wants to just talk about the negative side of it.
"So, I think for the whole thing to get dealt with and to get finished, I think it's a relief for everybody from Man City.
"I think it'll be a relief for the Premier League that they can finally come to a decision and put the whole thing to bed and let Man City be what they are and let them deal with whatever comes their way and get back to just focusing purely on the football."
Punishment hint
As disclosed by the Premier League, Chelsea's cooperation aided their case when determining their punishment for financial breaches.
Part of their statement read: "When considering the appropriate sanction, the Premier League Board noted that the club's proactive self-reporting, admissions of breach and exceptional cooperation throughout the investigation acted as significant mitigating factors."
This is said to be in stark contrast to City, with the Premier League alleging they failed to 'cooperate with, and assist, the Premier League in its investigations, including by providing documents and information to the Premier League in the utmost good faith'.
This could imply that if found guilty, City may not receive the same leniency that Chelsea were granted.