Man City will be relegated down a league or two if found guilty of their alleged breaches of financial fair play rules, according to a former chairman of a Premier League club.
A hearing to examine 115 Premier League charges issued against the club began on September 16 with the Citizens legal team pictured arriving at the IDRC, close to St Paul’s Cathedral in central London.
The hearing is reported to have been scheduled for 10 weeks, with the independent commission’s verdict not expected until the new year.
The charges facing , who won a fourth straight Premier League title in May, date back as far as the 2009-10 season.
It is thought the club, who are also accused of failing to co-operate with an investigation, could face a range of punishments including a severe points penalty or even expulsion from the Premier League if found guilty.
Man City were charged by the league in February 2023 after a long investigation into allegations published by German magazine Der Spiegel in autumn 2018.
The Premier League club deny any wrongdoing and have previously said they have a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” to support their stance.
There has been much debate around how Man City could be punished if found guilty but now former Everton chairman Keith Wyness insists that although complete expulsion is unlikely , he is expecting the Citizens to be relegated down a league or two if found guilty.
: I think complete expulsion is unlikely. I don’t see the punishment being that draconian. For the first time, I’m hearing noises about potential settlements for this case.
I don’t think it’ll be quickly, but when each side starts to lay out their evidence – and we see some cross-examination – I think both sides will realise they’re fighting to a score draw.
Let’s see how it plays out. I think there will be a penalty, but it won’t be expulsion from everything. There’ll be a relegation, I feel, down a league or two. That’s now a likely outcome.
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The news from Wyness comes after former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson insisted that there will be another trial to determine the punishment if the Premier club are found guilty at the current hearing.
It effectively means there is a split trial, .
There won’t be any discussion in this independent commission about what the sanction should be for City in terms of those that are within the remit of the independent commission.
The independent commission will hear the evidence in terms of the actual substantive situation and will come to a finding as to whether City have done it or not in respect of all the individual charges.
