Four City rivals were reportedly informed of the club’s guilty verdict before the rest of the Premier League because they had preserved their right to seek compensation.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham received advance notification of the independent commission’s decision, according to a fresh report from the Telegraph.
Those are the same four clubs who had previously given Man City legal notice of their right to pursue potential compensation claims. The notices preserved their legal position rather than establishing that compensation is owed.
Four clubs reportedly given advance notice of Man City verdict
The Telegraph now reports that United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham were notified of the guilty verdict before it was communicated to the rest of the Premier League.
That provides a fresh detail about the four clubs’ particular legal interest in the outcome of the case. City were found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges considered by the independent commission, including serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules across the period from 2009/10 to 2017/18.
The club lodged a comprehensive appeal on 1 October and maintains its innocence, arguing that the commission’s opinion contains “clear material errors” of law, principle and fact and is unsafe. No sanction has yet been determined, and the legal process remains ongoing.
The existence of the notices doesn’t mean United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Tottenham will ultimately bring compensation claims, nor does it establish that any such claims would succeed.
But the Telegraph’s report that those four clubs were informed of the verdict before the rest of the league offers another indication of why their legal notices could become significant once City’s appeal process is complete.
Watch this space.
