By Spy Uganda
A hearing to examine 115 Premier League charges against Manchester City will begin on 16th September, according to reports.
The English soccer champions were referred to an independent commission by the league in February last year over alleged breaches of top-flight financial rules.
They are also accused of failing to co-operate with the league’s investigation into those alleged rule breaches.
City, who won a fourth consecutive Premier League title in May, have always strenuously denied the charges, and did not comment on the reports that the hearing would start next week when contacted by the PA news agency, citing the confidential nature of the process.
At the time the charges were laid, City said they welcomed the opportunity for an independent commission “to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of our position”.
The club added: “As such, we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”
The charges against City relate to the reporting of financial information, the submission of details of manager and player pay information and a club’s responsibility as a Premier League member to adhere to Uefa’s financial regulations and to the league’s own profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told Sky Sports last month he understood that cases such as City’s created “uncertainty and frustration” but added: “There is no happy alternative to enforcing the rules.”
Speaking about the case in June, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak told the club’s own channels: “It’s taking longer than anyone hoped for but it is what it is. Let’s be judged by the facts, and not by claims and counterclaims.”
The Premier League commenced an investigation into City in December 2018, but the club subsequently challenged the jurisdiction and impartiality of an arbitration panel formed to determine whether the Premier League could oblige the club to provide documents and information it was seeking.
That challenge became public knowledge in 2021, when the Court of Appeal supported an earlier ruling that the dispute between City and the league could be reported.
Lord Justice Males, a member of the three-judge panel, said of the investigation: “It is surprising, and a matter of legitimate public concern, that so little progress has been made after two and a half years – during which, it may be noted, the club has twice been crowned as Premier League champions.”
Separate to the hearing of the 115 charges, City have challenged the Premier League over its associated party transaction (APT) rules, which are designed to ensure that deals done with entities linked to a club’s owners are for fair market value.
The outcome of that arbitration is not yet known.
