Update on Man City’s 115 charges after Chelsea escape points deduction

With Chelsea officially sanctioned, attention now shifts towards what will come of Manchester City and their 115 charges.

Or, more specifically, when City are expected to face the music.

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The eight-time Premier League champions stand accused of breaking Financial Fair Play rules between 2009 and 2018.

City were initially charged with a staggering 115 breaches of the rules, with another 15 being tacked on.

The club has been charged with not providing accurate financial information, not complying with UEFA’s FFP rules and not disclosing manager compensation.

It is not all related to City’s alleged financial indiscretions though, as 35 of their charges are in relation to not cooperating with the Premier League’s investigation.

The hearing regarding City’s lengthy list of charges began in September 2024 and concluded in December that same year, but a resolution has not been forthcoming.

Despite the Premier League punishing Chelsea regarding their breaches of the competition’s rules surrounding Financial Reporting, Third Party Investment and Youth Development, football finance expert Stefan Borson does not believe it will have any impact on bringing forward a verdict on City’s charges.

Is Chelsea’s punishment a sign City’s 115 charges will be resolved soon?

Speaking on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan regarding the timeline of when we can expect a resolution on City’s case, Borson said: “The overlap is only to the extent that the treatment of this sort of conduct has not been treated as severely as PSR.

“In a theoretical scenario where City are found to have breached some of the rules but ultimately like Chelsea that wouldn’t have impacted on its PSR position this agreement suggests that, save for the fact that there was co-operation here and early admission, save for that fact that maybe it’s not even a points deduction for something as extreme as that maybe.

“I think this is generally positive for City in terms of its leniency, but I wouldn’t read too much into it because of course this is a sanction agreement.

“As to when it’s coming, clearly we are now way over the expectations of all the parties. The last information I had is they have no idea when it’s coming.

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“I think we are back in the realms when international breaks are more likely than other times but who knows.”

Time will tell as to how many of the charges City are found to be in breach of and any subsequent punishments that will follow.

Simon Jordan’s frustrations with Chelsea punishment

However, Chelsea being hit with a £10.75million fine and a suspended one-year first team player transfer ban for numerous breaches of Premier League rules has former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan believing City could avoid harsher sanctions.

“For City you must be in the same space because part of the allegation against them is fraud,” Jordan said.

“If indeed you are found to be guilty, because at this moment City aren’t found to be guilty of anything, how do you then take up the table of sanctions and actually it’s a points deduction or removal of credit and whatever else you had in the past because you’ve just allowed Chelsea.”

One of the mooted punishments for City, should they be found guilty of any charges, is a points deduction.

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Everton was docked a total of eight points in the 2023/24 Premier League season for breaching the competition’s PSR rules while Nottingham Forest copped a four-point deduction in the 2022/23 campaign.

Yet Borson believed the relative lenience shown to Chelsea compared to Everton and Forest will be ‘beneficial’ for City if they are deemed to be guilty.

Has Chelsea’s punishment given a hint on how City could be penalised?

When asked if any of the mitigation removes the points deduction threat, Borson added: “Well it has done here. That’s what it’s done. I mean it’s not only removed points but it’s also halved the penalty and it’s also suspended the transfer ban.

“That’s really the core problem here is mitigation has been overly weighted in the Chelsea case.

“If City haven’t got mitigation and all the breaches are found then you would think City are still going to be in some sort of serious trouble.

“But I do think that this is beneficial for City compared to let’s say the approach taken on Everton and Nottingham Forest.”