By Thomas Word 

Manchester City logo. Image credit: Manchester City. 

On February 6, 2023, famous English club Manchester City was charged with 115 charges regarding their violation of Financial Fair Play regulations. 

Manchester City Football Club, located on the east side of Manchester, England, is one of the most well known football (soccer, for Americans) clubs in the entire world. The club has recently dominated the game, winning seven Premier League titles, seven FA Cup titles, a Champions League title and the Club World Cup. Although these achievements are extremely impressive, they have not come without controversy. 

The Premier League has accused Manchester City of breaking what are called Financial Fair Play regulations (FFP). These regulations are set to prevent clubs from financial trouble by stopping clubs from spending more money than they bring in. It is important to know that many of these clubs, Manchester City included, are owned by very wealthy businessmen, or even countries. Examples of such clubs are Al Nassr and Al Hilal, both owned by the Saudi Arabian government. So these regulations also play a role in preventing larger clubs from gaining a significant financial advantage over smaller clubs. 

Manchester City is owned by a very wealthy royal from Abu Dhabi named Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Al Nahyan owns and has influence over many companies that sponsor Manchester City. The rule makers who created FFP knew this was a possibility, so they created regulations to prevent wealthy owners from injecting money directly into their team via sponsorship deals. The regulations state that if a club and sponsors share an owner, these sponsorships must not account for over 30% of the club’s income. What Manchester City has been accused of is lying about how much money sponsors have been injecting into the club, as well as receiving extra funds directly from the Abu Dhabi government, which would violate FFP regulations.

Manchester City has been very vocal about their discontentment with these charges. A statement released directly by the club on February 6, 2023 reads:

“Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with.

The Club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent Commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.”

Manchester City is confident that they are innocent of any violations. This could be due to the fact that the club was recently found innocent of similar charges.

Manchester City faced a similar investigation regarding breaches of FFP by a different governing body, UEFA, in 2020. UEFA is the organization that organizes large European tournaments, such as the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League. When UEFA’s investigation of Manchester City concluded, the club was found innocent of any wrongdoing, and their proposed punishments, which were as severe as a possible multi-year suspension, were dismissed. 

Even though Manchester City is confident they will not face any serious charges, recent events in the Premier League suggest that this might not be the case.

Premier League club Everton recently faced an investigation regarding two breaches of FFP, and they were found guilty and docked ten points. In the Premier League, a win equals three points, a draw one point, and a loss zero points. In the past few years, Everton has finished the season around the middle or bottom half of the league, and this deduction has left them fighting at the very bottom. 

If Manchester City were found guilty of all 115 charges and given an equally weighted punishment, they would face an unparalleled 575 point deduction. With such a punishment, Manchester City would most likely be relegated into the lower divisions of English soccer.  At this point, however, Manchester City has not been proven guilty or been handed any punishment. 

This investigation has also caused a stir among many fans of the Premier League. If these charges turn out to be true, it would reshape the power structure of the league. Local Premier League observer and Match writer Michael Karjavine (‘24) said, “I really doubt it will be 115 [charges] that they will be punished for.” This is similar to the beliefs of a well-known Youtuber and radio broadcaster Mark Goldbridge, who often commentates on Premier League news. Goldbridge believes that “The volume of what Man City have done is going to make it very, very hard for the Premier League to prove.” Goldbridge’s statement is part of why many fans don’t believe Manchester City will face severe penalties. The Premier League would need copious amounts of irrefutable evidence to prove that Manchester City is guilty, because the potential punishments could send the club into chaos.

These charges have the potential to not only change the Premier League, but to turn the world of soccer onto its head. Manchester City have not been found guilty of any illegal actions and are cooperating in the Premier League’s investigation.