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18th May 2023
03:20pm BST
Manchester City have challenged the 115 charges against them by the Premier League for alleged rule breaches, raising concerns over the involvement of a particular barrister in the process because he is an Arsenal fan.
In February this year, the Premier League announced they had found Man City guilty of "numerous breaches" of financial rules following a four-year investigation into the club.
The Premier League said the 115 breaches had taken place over nine seasons, from the 2009/10 season to the 2017/18 campaign.
They have denied the charges and said at the time that they were "surprised" by them.
Now, they have lodged legal challenges against the charges.
The Times reports that City have raised the dispute in relation to recent changes in the Premier League’s rules, arguing that they should not apply to investigations into alleged rule breaches before then.
The club have also reportedly challenged the involvement of Murray Rosen KC, the head of the Premier League's independent judicial panel, in the case.
On his website he states that he is a member of Arsenal, who led City in the title race for much of this season.
As head of the league’s judicial panel, Rosen will oversee the proceedings which could result in City being hit with a points deduction or even face expulsion from the top flight, and will also select the individuals who will sit alongside him on the commission to consider all of City’s alleged rule breaches.
Some of the main rule breaches Man City have been accused of by the Premier League are:
Man City have also been accused of not cooperating with the Premier League’s investigation.
In 2020, Uefa ruled that Man City were guilty of breaching FFP regulations between 2012 and 2016 and banned the club from European competition for two years. This ban was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Man City will be able to appeal the final judgement of the independent commission, but, unlike Uefa’s ruling, they will not be able to take their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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