Man City FFP: City set for ‘Stay of Execution’ as fresh expulsion claim emerges with appeal ‘chaos’
According to reports, Manchester City could be set for a ‘Stay of Execution’ with the FFP situation with the case tipped to drag on.
Last month, Man City were found guilty on 114 of their 115 charges after being accused of breaching the Premier League’s FFP rules between 2009 and 2018.
Despite this, Enzo Maresca‘s side continue to insist on their innocence and have appealed, though their possible sanctions include a huge fine, transfer ban, points deduction, expulsion and/or being stripped of their Premier League titles.
Man City say they have ‘irrefutable evidence’ to prove their innocence, but it has been widely reported that they face an uphill battle to overturn the initial verdict.
Man City set for FFP “Stay of Execution”…
It has also been reported that the outcome of the appeal and punishment hearings could be announced early in 2027, but sports lawyer Dan Chapman has told our colleagues at TEAMtalk that Man City’s sanctions could drag into next season because club chiefs will want a “Stay of Execution”.
“City will almost certainly ask for a ‘Stay of Execution’,” Chapman told TEAMtalk.
READ: Man City FFP: Likely ‘punishment’ will only encourage more cheating
“It is up to the Commission itself, but the Premier League would be asked if they oppose or agree to a stay.
“I think the more severe the penalty, the more likely a stay pending an appeal, and perhaps the more likely the Premier League would have to accept it was not in the interests of the sport that a sanction be imposed which could then be overturned on appeal.”
On why a sanction announcement should not be expected before the appeal outcome, he added: “How could you relegate or even expel a team from the league only for an appeal to overturn it months later? It would be chaos on a level never seen before.”
Football finance expert and ex-Man City advisor Stefan Borson, meanwhile, also believes the Man City saga could drag on, with a quick resolution “very unlikely”.
“I think it’s quite hard to know exactly where we are in the whole order of process because the appeal may or may not go before a sanction hearing,” Borson told talkSPORT.
READ MORE: Man City FFP: PL told there are ‘worse offenders’ than ‘calm’ City after likely sanction revealed
“It seems to me it would be sensible for the parties to agree that the appeal to the liability part i.e. how many of the 115 (charges) City have breached, that appeal would take place before we have a sanction hearing.
“Now, there’s also just the practical aspect of actually getting the same people to go through two separate processes.
“So, the sanction hearing will have both sides’ legal teams presenting, based on the independent commission’s findings, their position on sanction. That will be the starting point and also the mitigating and aggravating factors.
“That in itself is a process that needs preparation and time for the lawyers. What I don’t think can happen is a situation where they try and run both processes simultaneously.
“The preparation time required for the full appeal of the liability phase, i.e. whether they have done it or not, that to me can’t be run while they’re also being distracted on a sanction hearing.
“There’s a lot of talk about how this is going to go quick. It just seems to me that it’s very unlikely that that’s the case.”
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