City’s long-running Premier League case could continue for years, with Sky Sports News reporting that the process is now moving towards the appeal stage.
It is another development in a story we have covered extensively since reports of guilty findings emerged on Friday. The independent panel’s full judgment remains unpublished, but Sky believes the scale of the case and City’s determination to clear their name mean a final resolution could still be some distance away.
Man City process ‘moving to appeal stage’
Sky Sports reports that an independent tribunal has reached decisions in the case and says Sky Sports News understands the process is moving to the appeal stage.
That follows reports last week claiming that most of the charges against Man City had been proven. City have consistently denied wrongdoing and responded by insisting the process remains ongoing, with “significant elements to be completed”.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak reinforced that position in an open letter to supporters on Saturday, saying the process still had “a long way to run” and reiterating City’s determination to prove their innocence.
Strict confidentiality surrounding the proceedings means the full basis for the reported findings — and City’s response to them — is still not publicly available.
Sky Sports says case could continue for years
The potential appeal route is now one of the most significant parts of the story.
Sky reports that an appeal would be heard by a new three-person panel. Under Premier League rules, an Appeal Board can allow or dismiss an appeal or vary the commission’s order.
Unlike City’s previous financial dispute with UEFA, the club wouldn’t be able to take this Premier League case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Sky says there is a “strong possibility” City’s owners could instead turn to the High Court if they were unsuccessful through the league’s appeals process.
That makes comparisons with City’s successful CAS appeal in 2020 useful only up to a point.
City had been handed a two-year European ban and €30m fine by UEFA. CAS subsequently overturned the ban and reduced the fine to €10m, finding that most of the alleged breaches were either not established or time-barred, while upholding a failure to cooperate with UEFA’s investigation.
The current Premier League proceedings follow a different route and don’t provide City with the same CAS option.
Long wait for final Man City resolution
Al Mubarak’s warning that there is still a long way to go therefore sits alongside Sky’s latest assessment that the wider dispute could continue for years.
Much remains unknown publicly. The panel’s full findings haven’t been released, no sanction has been announced and there is no confirmed timetable for the remaining stages.
Potential compensation claims from rival clubs could add another layer should findings against City ultimately survive the appeals process.
For City supporters who have followed every development since last week, Sky’s report provides a clearer indication of where the case may be heading without bringing its conclusion any closer.
The process may now be moving towards an appeal. A final resolution, however, could remain a long way off.
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