The scandal of Manchester City (hereafter referred to as Man City) of the English Professional Football Premier League (EPL) is shaking the football world.
On the 6th (local time), the EPL Secretariat announced that Man City had referred to an independent committee for violating more than 100 financial regulations during the 9 seasons from 2009 to 2018 and for not accurately reporting the club’s financial status.
Man City’s charges are largely twofold. First, it greatly inflated sponsorship revenue. Currently, UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) prohibits clubs from spending excessively beyond their income. However, Man City is accused of buying players with huge funds after disguising money from the owner’s personal pocket as income.
The second is the allegation of artificially reducing the cost of operating the club by signing secret contracts with companies related to the owner. In short, the books were manipulated to make the income look high and the expenses look low.
Manchester City, the strongest team on Mansour’s back, is in danger of expulsion?
Man City, which was an insignificant team in the EPL, was acquired in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour, a rich man from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Under Mansour’s full support, Man City has lifted the EPL championship trophy six times over the past 10 years since the 2011-2012 season. Compared to the 128 years before Mansour took over, only two championships were won, it is a ‘changing sea’.
However, charges of violating financial regulations followed like a ‘tag’. He was fined 60 million euros (approximately 80.9 billion won) for FFP violations in 2014, and in 2020, he was banned from European club competitions by UEFA for two years. However, he appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), and there was no disciplinary action on the grounds that the statute of limitations had passed.
However, this time the EPL pulled out the knife themselves. After a four-year investigation, more than 100 charges were brought forward. The EPL disciplinary rules have no statute of limitations and are not subject to CAS appeal.
If Man City’s allegations are confirmed as true, they could face fines and point cuts, and in the worst case, be expelled from the EPL and kicked out of the lower leagues.
In particular, the point cut also applies to the past nine seasons, when Manchester City violated the rules. If you are punished for a point reduction, the previous Premier League rankings will change, and Manchester City’s winning career is in danger of being taken away. 바카라사이트
EPL Secretariat, do you have other intentions… Why now?
Manchester City said, “We were surprised by the vast amount of data and have not received any prior warning,” in response to the issue raised by the EPL Secretariat.
Rather, a Man City official said in an interview with <Mirror>, “It is an opportunity to wash away the stain of avoiding disciplinary action due to the statute of limitations in the CAS judgment.”
At the same time, Manchester City also raised suspicions that the EPL secretariat had other intentions. Recently, when the British government tried to issue a white paper for the creation of an independent organization that strengthens management and supervision of the football industry, the EPL secretariat made Manchester City a scapegoat to show its ‘self-cleaning ability’.
In the British media, it is also pointed out that the British government’s sudden decision to delay the publication of the white paper, which was scheduled for the 26th of last month, by two weeks was due to prior coordination with the EPL secretariat.
The BBC said, “This is the biggest financial scandal in the history of the Premier League,” and analyzed, “However, the timing of raising the issue is interesting, and the EPL Secretariat would have wanted to send a message to the British government that it could maintain order on its own.”
The football industry will lose competitiveness… The British government hesitates
Other EPL clubs welcomed it. They hope that Manchester City, which reigns as the strongest team for violating financial rules, will be expelled. In particular, <Daily Mail> said, “Other clubs do not consider fines and point reductions to be of great significance.” We are creating an atmosphere.”
Coach Jose Mourinho, who has faced Manchester City several times by leading Manchester United and Tottenham in the past EP, also criticized, saying, “If Man City violates the FFP, all activities must be banned.”
On the other hand, football finance expert Kieran Maguire pointed out to the BBC that “the British government, which wants to maintain its competitive advantage in the football industry, will find it difficult to impose harsh regulations on potential foreign investors such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the United States.”
“The British government and the EPL cannot afford to instill hostility to foreign investors after leaving the European Union (EU) and facing a period of economic stagnation,” he said. “, predicted.