Manchester City and the Premier League are awaiting the verdict of the long-running ‘115 charges case’ against the defending champions.
But a new update on the situation by a well-respected soccer journalist has emerged on the eve of the Manchester derby.
Man City were first accused of 115 rule breaches by the Premier League in February 2023. A private hearing then took place in front of an independent panel across 10 weeks between September 2024 and December 2024.
The 115 charges that City have been accused of – some reports suggest the number is closer to 130 – are alleged to have occurred between 2009 and 2018.
The Premier League champions are accused of four counts of not providing accurate financial information, 14 counts of failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments, five counts of failure to comply with UEFA’s rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) 2013-14 to 2017-18, seven counts of breaching Premier League’s PSR rules 2015-16 to 2017-18 with the remaining 35 charges related to failure to co-operate with league investigations between December 2018 and February 2023.
However, the Citizens have denied any wrongdoing and said their defence was supported by an ‘irrefutable body of evidence’.
Insider issues major update on Man City’s 115 charges verdict
Despite the allegations against the champions, the club has continued to be active in the transfer market. City signed Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth earlier in the window for a $83.6M fee.
Now, almost three years on from when the accusations first came to light, fans finally have an update.
Shortly after news of Marc Guehi’s proposed move broke, the Independent’s Miguel Delaney issued an update on the case and claimed it could yet go on for another year.
Speaking on the outlet’s YouTube channel, Delaney said:
“The 115, it’s sometimes called, even though it’s related to 129, 130 charges, could yet go on for at least another year. That comes from sources with knowledge of the process.
“They’re also telling us that outside a small circle, no one has pretty much any idea when the three judges on the independent panel will even come to an outcome…But if it is an outcome unfavourable to City, there’s almost certain to be an appeal.
“I mean, this is all the more remarkable, of course, because the hearing, so I suppose you’d call it the third stage of this, at this point, nine-year investigation, this hearing concluded in December 2024.
“And it was expected to be announced in around February 2025. We’re now over a year on. No one is any the wiser. I understand there is some frustration at the top of the Premier League about this, but there’s not much they can do about it.”
While both parties await a verdict, it is likely any decision will set an important precedent for similar cases in the league going forward.
