The forthcoming news over Financial Fair Play will raise issues regarding Man City’s 115 charges

Although the allegations against Manchester City for violating Premier League regulations are quite distinct from those against Nottingham Forest, this does not prevent questions from being asked, as unavoidable as they may be.

After the sun has set today, it is anticipated that Nottingham Forest will learn the consequences of their possible violation of financial regulations. It is a contentious matter, which will undoubtedly result in an increase in the number of inquiries addressed on Manchester City.

After the club was accused with a violation of the top-flight’s profit and sustainability standards earlier this year, a hearing was held last week to decide the fine that will be imposed on Forest. Due to the fact that Everton was previously subjected to a penalty of this nature, which was considered to be a benchmark punishment, Nuno’s squad, which is now in 17th place, is in danger of having their points deducted.

There are reports that indicate that Forest will find out the outcome of that hearing today, and the rest of the Premier League, including Manchester City, will be paying close attention to the proceedings.

According to the rules of the Premier League, clubs are only allowed to incur losses of up to £105 million over the course of three years, or £35 million. This restriction is less stringent for teams that have been promoted during the three-year cycle that is applicable to them. It means that Forest have only been permitted to lose a total of £61 million over the course of the past three seasons. This includes £13 million for the two seasons that they spent in the Championship before moving up, in addition to £35 million for the most recent season. There is a lack of clarity on the extent to which they are said to have exceeded this limit.

It is apparent that individuals who are present at Etihad Stadium are interested in Forest’s issue; nonetheless, the circumstance that Forest is facing is extremely different from the one that City is facing. The Blues were charged with 115 charges of breaking competition rules between the years 2009 and 2018, according to the Premier League, which was announced in February of last year. The organization has sworn to clear its name and has denied any and all allegations.

When addressing before a select committee, the Chief Executive Officer of the Premier League, Richard Masters, stated, “These charges are very different from one another.” If any club, regardless of whether they are the current champions or not, had been discovered to have violated the spending regulations for the year ’23, they would have been in the exact same position as Everton or Nottingham Forest.

Everton is the only Premier League team that has been found to have violated the profit and sustainability laws (PSR), and the decision to remove ten points from their total for the prior charge, which was related to the 2021/2022 season, was a significant one. The appeal finally resulted in the penalty being lowered to six points; nevertheless, they are now facing a second charge before the end of the season. It has been decided that the hearing for the Toffees about their second charge will take place at the tail end of the following week. It has been stated that they will most likely have to wait until the following month to find out what will happen to them, and it has been further suggested that they may be “left in limbo until after Easter.”

At the annual general meeting of the Premier League in 2023, Everton, Nottingham Forest, and everyone else reached an agreement on a series of rule amendments that would speed up cases that were straightforward. The delay is due to the fact that the case involving City is not an easy one.

It has been verified by Masters that the FFP trial for City has been scheduled to begin at a date that has not yet been published. The Daily Mail has suggested that the hearing could begin at some point during the autumn of this year itself. Also included is the possibility that a verdict might be handed down in the summer of 2025, provided that all goes according to plan. There is a low probability that any more information regarding the case will be known prior to the beginning of the hearing.

It is unclear what kinds of punishments City would be subjected to in the event that it is found guilty, given that this is an unprecedented instance. It is for this reason that it is, to some part, fruitless to look at the case for a guide that Nottingham Forest and Everton have presented. On the other hand, if the penalties in those two cases are points deductions and fines, and if City’s charges are significantly more serious, then this does provide some potential clue as to the path that the Premier League could pursue in the event that City is found guilty.

It is obvious that points deductions and fines are both possibilities; nevertheless, there is also the possibility that titles will be taken away and that relegation will be implemented.