According to reports, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have been informed whether they will be punished for their ‘alleged breaches of EU law’.
Man City are embroiled in legal disputes as they have been at loggerheads with the Premier League since they were referred to an independent commission at the start of 2023.
This came asPep Guardiola‘s side were accused of breaching 115 of the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules between 2009 and 2018.
The number of Man City’s charges have reportedly since increased to 130 and they face a huge fine, transfer ban, points deduction or expulsion from the Premier League if they are found guilty.
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However, Man City have remained bullish on their innocence and launched a separate legal battle against the Premier League as they campaigned for Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules to be scrapped.
This has been another prolonged case andthis APT ‘war’ remains ongoing, despite a commission ruling in favour of Man City.
Man City have also faced allegations from further afield, with La Liga chief Javier Tebas accusing the club of ‘deception’ by ‘hiding costs’ to get around sanctions.
Ligue Un champions and Champions League finalists PSG have also been accused, but a report from The Guardian confirms the two sides ‘face no further action over alleged breaches of EU competition law’.
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It is noted that Tebs ‘filed a complaint’ in July 2023 to accuse the clubs of ‘receiving resources under non-market conditions from the governments of Abu Dhabi and Qatar respectively, disrupting markets by enabling them to spend more than their rivals on players and coaches, and obtaining sponsorship income at levels that did not align with fair market value’.
Unsurprisingly, the clubs ‘denied’ these allegations and even pointed out that Tebas has ‘history of attacking them owing to envy of their success and financial resources’.
Man City and PSG have been successful as a ‘formal investigation will not take place’, with ‘insufficient evidence’ given as the main reason for this decision as links with their ‘commercial deals with companies related to the Abu Dhabi and Qatar governments to state subsidy regulations is not enough to meet the investigatory threshold’.
‘Sources’ for The Guardian added:
‘Sources with knowledge of the commission’s preliminary assessment of Tebas’s complaints have indicated a formal investigation will not take place. The commission has limited resources to allocate to investigations.
‘One source in Brussels said it tended to take up complaints that had the potential to develop into test cases with significant implications across different sectors.’