Man City FFP: Sports lawyer surprised by ‘high risk’ City appeal as seven-year punishment recommended

A leading sports lawyer has been taken aback by Manchester City’s “high risk” appeal strategy after the guilty FFP verdict.

Man City have been found guilty on almost all charges after being accused of breaching the Premier League’s FFP rules between 2009 and 2018 and failing to comply.

Enzo Maresca‘s side were found to have produced several ‘sham’ deals to produce around £900m of fake revenue, though they have continued to insist on their innocence and have lodged an appeal.

It has been widely reported that Man City face an uphill battle to overturn the initial verdict, and their potential punishments range from a huge fine to being stripped of their Premier League titles.

Now, leading sports lawyer Dan Chapman has told our colleagues at TEAMtalk of his surprise at Man City chiefs not yet adopting a “damage limitation” approach with their appeal.

“We now know that the Independent Commission, based on the Premier League’s investigations and not simply the Der Spiegel leaked documents, have made multiple findings of fact based on actual evidence and we no longer need to speculate as to the authenticity of documents,” Chapman told TEAMtalk.

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“And so for me the strategy deployed by City from the outset has always been high risk at best, or extremely dangerous at worst.

“If City cannot win this appeal, or win out via subsequent legal processes, they are making the sanction stage of these proceedings more difficult for themselves. But they have been nothing if not consistent in their approach.

“Time will ultimately tell, but I see no imminent sign of damage limitation mode being deployed yet.”

“A punishment for seven seasons would be fitting…”

And ex-Man City defender Danny Mills has not held back when asked to give his thoughts on how his former club should be punished.

“It’d be a farce. 100%. If it’s a slap on the wrist, it’s an absolute farce,” Mills told Gambling.com.

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“Everton were done for one or two charges, Forest the same – six points, four points, a couple of charges – and they were open about it. They were honest about it. And they said, ‘Okay.’ Forest, maybe not as much, but Everton was very clear. Everton were unfortunate because of the stadium situation, because obviously their owner was sanctioned and money was pulled from them. And they got done six points. So, you’ve got to change that.

“We’re looking at, what, seven major breaches, aren’t we? I know there are 114, but there are seven – clearly seven or eight seasons where financial doping was massive. And that is the biggest problem.

“So, I think you’re going to have to look at those seven seasons, eight seasons and say, ‘Well, that’s what they really need to be punished for, seriously.’ And then the fact they’ve tried to say, ‘Well, they haven’t helped out’ – they’ve delayed it as long as possible. You can add a punishment on top of that. Again, that’s just how the justice system works.

“You get a speeding fine, you hold your hands up, admit it, you get three points. You go to court, fight it, lose, get six points. It shouldn’t be massively complicated, should it? So, for me, a punishment for seven seasons would be fitting.”

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