The 24th of September will be remembered for a long time at Etihad. When the Manchester City charges story started in February 2023, no one knew it would go this far. On that date, the Premier League clubs were told that all but one of the 115 charges against the team had been proven.
The verdict is a crucial step for the supporters who have been involved in this case for a long time. During this time, Manchester City has won 3 Premier League trophies and the Champions League. Now the mood has changed.
The reaction came within hours. Rui Pinto, the whistleblower behind the original leaks, posted online and called the outcome a “historic decision for English football”. He also referred back to Pep Guardiola’s first press conference as City manager in 2016. Guardiola famously told reporters to “fasten your seat belts”.
Pinto conveyed that he thinks the story is far from over. In contrast, reactions in football have been completely different. According to one unnamed Premier League executive, there is finally going to be “punishment”. Many people in rival boardrooms have felt this way for years now.
City has never accepted the substance of the charges. Thursday’s update, covered in our official Premier League guilty verdict update, does not settle what happens next.
From Der Spiegel Leaks to the £30m Etisalat Admission
To understand how City found itself in the current situation, we need to look back to November 2018. In that month, German magazine Der Spiegel published the emails from Pinto’s Football Leaks data cache.
Those documents formed the basis of the case of financial fair play levied against City first by UEFA and later by the Premier League.
One detail that quickly came to light was City admitting that the Abu Dhabi United Group had paid £30m via an external party for Etisalat. The payments were spread across the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
That money was the centrepiece of the sponsorship deals that were scrutinised by UEFA. It has also become one of the few areas where the information from Manchester City and that obtained by the investigators align.
City’s public position on the leaks has remained consistent. The club has described the published material as “out-of-context” materials purported to have been hacked or stolen. It also called the leak an “attempt to damage the club’s reputation.”
The same response followed the alleged second contract details involving Roberto Mancini. Those details also came from the leaked material.
Leak, rebuttal, then a long wait for a verdict. That pattern has followed the case from the beginning.
UEFA Precedent, CAS Time-Barring, and Legal Arguments
City have gone under the microscope previously for the same evidence. UEFA prohibited them from playing in the Champions League for two years. They then slapped them with a fine of €30 million on 14 February 2020.
UEFA ruled that City had committed serious breaches of its financial fair play rules.
City appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and won. In July 2020, CAS overturned the Champions League ban entirely.
The decision also established that the material evidence for the Etisalat payment was barred by the time limitations provided in UEFA’s own statutes. The fine was so greatly reduced.
This was an important distinction. It was the CAS that had not found that the events in question had not happened. The decision was mainly concerned with UEFA’s time limits for bringing the case.
The ruling meant City could continue in Europe without having to miss a game.
Ferran Soriano, City’s chief executive, described the club’s case at the time as being supported by “irrefutable evidence”.
The CAS ruling has remained an important part of City’s legal position. However, the Premier League’s rules do not contain the same time bar that helped City at UEFA.
Our full report on the Premier League findings sets out the detail behind Thursday’s announcement.
Unanswered Questions and Potential Sanctions for City
The decision on Thursday was a watershed moment in the Manchester City 115 charges. But it is ironic that despite the decision, there are still many reasonable questions to be asked.
The Premier League has not announced which single charge was not proven. That information may also be kept under wraps until the independent commission publishes its written report in full.
To supporters, the punishment the players will receive will have far more relevance than the actual charges; still, nothing has been announced about points deductions, fines, or similar disciplinary action.
They have also not provided any confirmation that they accept the items that were found.
The club might choose to challenge any penalty actually inflicted. A second legal challenge would not be surprising, considering CAS’s decision about the Etisalat evidence in 2020.
One thing we can be certain of about this case is that it has been ongoing for eight years now. The case has weathered club statements, a UEFA ban, an appeals CAS and a prolonged Premier League enquiry.
The commission’s full written decision tends to be the next big step and is expected to elaborate further on the unproven charge and any punishment that may follow from City.
