New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS): The biggest event in the 2024/25 Premier League season is one that will take place off the pitch as the Premier League hopes to finally settle the 115 charges that Manchester City is accused of. As the trial began on Monday, La Liga President Javier Tebas said the Premier League should not differentiate between clubs.
“The Premier League shouldn't give in to pressure, right? Manchester City is just another club, and when you lead an association, you have to act. The Premier League shouldn't differentiate between big or small, or important and ‘non-important’, clubs. Manchester City is a member of the association that has committed irregularities and should receive the sanction it deserves. If not, the competition's authority will be lost,” said Tebas to GIVEMESPORT.
The planned independent commission is scheduled to last ten weeks. If the side is found guilty of the worst breaches, the defending Premier League chances face the threat of being relegated.
The alleged rule violations include failing to submit accurate financial data for nine respective seasons, withholding information about former manager Roberto Mancini's compensation during his four seasons at the team from 2009 to 2013, not cooperating with an investigation, and handing over documents as required over five seasons from 2018-19 to 2022-23 and failing to disclose compensation information of former players, including Yaya Toure over the course of six seasons, from 2010 to 2015–16.
City were previously banned by the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) for two years of European competition in 2019 for a breach of Financial Fair Play rules after deeming they'd falsely inflated sponsorship revenues between 2012 and 2016.
Along with the two-year ban, City were also handed a 30 million euro fine, only for that to be overturned in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, A decision that Tebas believes is the biggest failure in the history of the authoritative body.
“There are more than 115 accusations. I don't know everything, but I know what happened regarding Manchester City’s UEFA case, and quite well. Let's not forget UEFA-sanctioned City by not allowing them to compete in the Champions League. Then CAS, in a very controversial decision, acquitted them instead of accusing them.
"I would say that was one of the biggest failures in the history of CAS on a legal issue. It was demonstrated [by UEFA] that they should have been sanctioned and some of those charges are now being pursued by the Premier League,” he added.