Premier league asked 'where's the proof' in man city 115 charges saga

AS VILLA AND OTHER TOP-FLIGHT CLUBS STRUGGLE TO STAY WITHIN THE PREMIER LEAGUE'S STRINGENT SPENDING RULES, THE MAN CITY PROBE THREATENS TO RUN AND RUN KEITH WALES and SIMON BAJKOWSKI

14:09, 01 Jun 2025 The saga of Manchester City and the huge array of charges they face as part of a Premier League probe into club finances threatens to run longer than the legendary TV soap

opera filmed just down the road from the Etihad. But whereas most Coronation Street storylines try to reflect real life, the epic tale of City and their 115 charges - or is it 130? - has

most of their rivals in dreamland amid talk of relegation, expulsion and massive fines should the serial trophy winners be found guilty. As such, the likes of Aston Villa and other

top-flight clubs manfully battling to stay within the Premier League's stringent spending rules, are looking on with interest. It is now nearly two-and-a-half years since the

allegations first emerged, and several months since a tribunal in London into the affair came to a close, yet no verdict has yet been delivered and the issue continues to be a hot topic in

football discussions. A recent episode of The Overlap podcast delving into the drawn-out legal battle had pundit Gary Neville labelled the delay in reaching a verdict a "disgrace",

echoing the frustration felt by many observers. But even more interesting are insights from football finance expert Kieran Maguire regarding the probable outcome of the probe. He

underscored the difficulty the Premier League faces in proving the trio of main charges against Villa's rivals, including one which seems set to land the club in serious trouble.

Article continues below Asked for his thoughts on how the verdict might go, Maguire said: "In terms of the effective accusation of fraud against Manchester City, taking money from the

club owners and disguising that as sponsorship revenue, Manchester City have to be party to the guilt of that, the sponsors have to be party to the guilt of that, and the auditors have to be

incompetent or in on it - and they won't be in on it. "If that is proven, there will be a very severe penalty and the board of directors of Manchester City would have to follow

the same route as Juventus and resign. "The other issue is non-cooperation with the Premier League. I think City will quite happily say they haven't co-operated. If they get found

guilty of that, there will be a penalty in terms of a fine because it's a fiscal issue. "The third issue [is] of paying managers and players off-book. It's more complicated

but more likely to be found guilty in terms of the burden of proof because the auditors wouldn't be involved because it's a private arrangement. "Roberto Mancini was accused

but didn't attend the hearing because he's under no obligation to do so, so where's the proof? It's really difficult." A hearing was held for more than three months

at the back end of 2024 to hear all the evidence presented by both sides, and despite repeated claims of a verdict being announced, we are still waiting. However frustrating that is, the

amount of evidence the independent three-man panel had to deal with means it is right they take the time they need to come to the correct ruling. Article continues below "It took 14

weeks to hear all of the evidence. I believe there were half a million pieces of written evidence submitted by both parties," Maguire added. "That means the commission had an awful

lot to consider. They have to get the decision right, but we stopped the hearing in the second week in December. We're six months later in to the case and nothing has come out of it.

It's frustrating." IS IT TIME TO SIMPLY SCRAP PSR? CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR SAY