The hearing regarding Manchester City’s 115 charges of alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules is set to begin on Monday.
The charges were brought against City in February 2023, following a four-year investigation.
The club is accused of breaching financial regulations between 2009 and 2018.
Manchester City have consistently denied all charges, asserting that their case is backed by a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence.”
The Premier League alleges that City failed to provide “accurate financial information” that reflected a true and fair view of the club’s financial position.
This information encompasses key areas such as club revenue, sponsorship income, and operating costs.
Additionally, the league has accused the reigning Premier League champions of non-cooperation during the investigation process.
In response to the investigation, City maintained that the accusations were “entirely false,” and argued that they stemmed from reports originally published by the German newspaper Der Spiegel.
According to the club, these reports were based on “illegal hacking” and a selective, out-of-context release of internal emails.
Since their 2008 acquisition by the Abu Dhabi United Group, Manchester City have enjoyed unprecedented success, winning eight Premier League titles, multiple domestic cups, and the UEFA Champions League.
“It starts soon and hopefully finishes soon,” Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola said on Friday.
“I am looking forward to the decision.
“I’m happy it’s starting on Monday.
“I know there will be more rumours, new specialists about the sentences.
“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.
“Everybody is innocent until guilt is proven. So we’ll see.”
Pep Guardiola claimed that Premier League clubs are keen to see Manchester City face sanctions over the 115 allegations of financial misconduct.
The current Premier League case has sparked widespread commentary from various figures within and outside the football industry, including La Liga president Javier Tebas, who has voiced his opinions on the matter this week.
“I have spoken with many Premier League clubs and most of them understand that City should be sanctioned,” Tebas claimed to Spanish media.
“Maybe he’s right,” Pep Guardiola said in response to these comments.
He added: “For the fact that all the Premier League teams want us to be sanctioned, that is for sure.
“I agree with Tebas for the first time, and hopefully the last.
“I am pretty sure I agree with that.
“That’s why I say to Mr Tebas and the Premier League teams: wait for the independent panel.
“Justice is there in a modern democracy so yeah, wait for the decision, it’s not more complicated than that.
“But I don’t know if he is a lawyer or the rest of the Premier League teams are lawyers so what I ask for is that – wait, it happened with UEFA [in 2021].
“We believe that we have not done anything wrong so we go to an independent panel and we are going to wait.”
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