What’s the Premier League vs Manchester City ‘sports trial of the century’?

It has been a long wait, but the independent hearing into Manchester City’s alleged 115 breaches of Premier League financial regulations is finally beginning.
In what British media are describing as the “sports trial of the century”, a three-person commission will start on Monday to sift through reams of evidence for an estimated 10 weeks with a verdict expected some time before the end of the current season.
Since a 2008 takeover by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family, City have been transformed from also-rans into the Premier League’s dominant force.
Eight of the club’s 10 league titles have come in the past 13 seasons, plus a first and only Champions League in 2023.
They stand accused of bending financial rules while on the rise to their current status.
Of the 115 charges, 80 are for breaches of regulations from 2009 to 2018 while the remaining 35 relate to failing to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.
The root of the charges comes from leaked documents published by the German news magazine Der Spiegel in 2018.
Emails purportedly sent between top City executives showed the club had inflated sponsorship revenue from the United Arab Emirates state-controlled airline Etihad and telecommunications firm Etisalat by disguising direct investment from Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group as income.
Other documents claimed to show off-the-books payments to then-manager Roberto Mancini via consultancy fees from a club in Abu Dhabi.
City have denied any wrongdoing and insisted there is a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” to prove so.
And they have already defended their position in one case in which a two-year ban from the Champions League by UEFA was overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2020.
City said at the time of the referral to the Premier League’s independent commission that they were surprised by the league’s “issuing of these alleged breaches”.
The CAS found most of the alleged breaches of overstating sponsorship revenue were either not established or “time-barred” because they fell outside the five-year statutory limit for prosecution.
But no such time limitation clause exists in the Premier League case.
If found guilty on some or all of the charges, City face a severe points deduction and possibly even expulsion from the Premier League.
Everton and Nottingham Forest were hit by points deductions last season for single breaches of profit and sustainability rules.
A guilty verdict could bring an end to Pep Guardiola’s glorious reign at the Etihad.
The City manager, who is into the final year of his contract, has steadfastly backed his superiors but previously said he would walk if they had not been honest with him.
“If you lie to me, the day after, I am not here,” Guardiola said in 2022.
Severe sanctions would also raise doubts over the future of City’s cast of star players, including prolific striker Erling Haaland.
And other clubs could make a claim for titles to be stripped and for compensation if City gained an unfair advantage by nefarious means.
There is plenty at play for the Premier League no matter the outcome.
If City lose their case, an entire era – at a time when the English top-flight enjoys global prominence over its European rivals – becomes mired in scandal.
On the other hand, should City prove their innocence, the Premier League stands accused of being a soft touch and outmanoeuvred by the deep pockets of state-backed clubs.
Guardiola has welcomed the start of the trial, saying before the weekend that City are innocent until proven guilty.
“It starts soon and then [hopefully] finishes soon. An independent panel will decide, and I am looking forward to the decision,” Guardiola told reporters last week.
“We’re going to see. I know what people are looking forward to, what they expect. I know what I read for many, many years.
“I am not a lawyer. Erling [Haaland] is not a lawyer. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty.”