Maguire reveals '80 point deduction' verdict update after what 'some people high up' told him

Man City took legal action against the Premier League as they wait to hear the outcome of their FFP hearing

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has an update on the verdict in the financial fair play case facing Man City, as the wait to hear a ruling drags on.

An independent commission hearing to examine 115 charges laid by the Premier League against Man City started in September and ended in December.

The Premier League opened an investigation into Man City way back in 2018 and after a number of legal delays, charges were finally laid in February 2023 and the club were referred to an independent commission.

The charges against the Citizens relate to the requirement to accurately report financial information, including around the value of sponsorship deals, the submission of details of manager and player pay information and to a club’s responsibility as a Premier League member to adhere to UEFA’s financial regulations and to the league’s own profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

They are also accused of failing to co-operate with the league’s investigation. In all, there are charges relating to every season between 2009-10 and 2022-23.

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When asked for an update on when the verdict will be announced, Maguire said on The Overlap: “We don’t know. I have spoken to some people high up and they reckon only four or five people in the country know when the verdict will be out. So there’s lots of ITK case, lots of people saying on WhatsApp groups and so on that’s it’s due out this Friday, next Monday and so on.

“Nobody knows for sure. I think when it does come out, the big fear is that you get the verdict as to whether they are guilty or innocent of the 115 charges – but you don’t get told what the punishment is. That could come later.

“I think that would really set the cat amongst the pigeons. But in terms of the actual date, I think Pep said it was going to be in March, well we’ve got to the end of March and no news. So how long? We don’t know.

“You’ve also got to think about the lawyers, they are on the clock, if I’m on three or five thousand pounds an hour I’m not going to hurry a decision as to when the result is going to come out.”

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When asked if he thinks everyone wants it sorted for the start of next season, Maguire added: “There is certainly a desire from the Premier League for it to come out, otherwise we’ve got a hangover over the summer, in terms of where does this leave clubs?

“If it comes out in July, for example, and Man City are given a 40 or 50 point deduction then presumably one of Leicester or Ipswich will be saying, ‘well if that had come out earlier we would have avoided relegation,’ so therefore they might be putting in a legal case. We’ve seen Burnley recently put in a case against Everton for the points decuction there. They believe they suffered financially.”

Everton and Nottingham Forest were both found guilty of breaking the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules last season and deducted points.

The Toffees were deducted eight points in total and Nottingham Forest were docked four points but Maguire thinks a zero could be added on the end of those punishments if Man City are found guilty of the most serious of their charges.

Maguire continued: “If you read the commission reports from cover to cover they both say that these were minor breaches of the rules. What Manchester City are being accused of is corporate fraud over the period of nearly a decade, so, if guilty, you’ve got to add a zero on to the points deductions that we’ve seen for Forest and Everton.

“If not guilty…there’s going to be a lot of trouble.”

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