Finessing The System
An Insight Into Manchester City’s Alleged Breaches of Premier League Rule
B. N. Dent
I am sure many of us would find it pretty amusing to see the not only prestigious, but dominant, football club Manchester City be forcefully relegated from the Premier League and placed in England’s second highest football league where they would be a giant among dwarfs. In light of recent charges brought forth by the Premier league against Manchester City, this amusing vision may not be far off from becoming a reality.
On the 8th of February, the Premier League accused Manchester City of violating over 100 league rules. Not in this year alone but dating all the way back to the 2009/10 season. Nevertheless, breaking over 100 rules is a feat that even some genuine criminal organisations would struggle to compete with. You would think that some of these allegations dating all the way back to 2009 would have been resolved by now, but due to the nature of the accusations and the lack of transparency displayed by the club, some investigators have said that it has been difficult to definitively prove any wrongdoing. Specifically, the charges relate to a failure to provide accurate financial information, not disclosing contractual payments to managers and players, violating UEFA’s financial fair play regulations during the 2017/18 season, and failing to adequately cooperate with premier league investigators. I can understand not wanting to talk to a bunch of nosy, law-enforcing investigators, but the other three areas seem pretty serious.
Financial manipulation is nothing to be taken lightly in the world of professional sport as it can provide unfair advantages to teams who do not wish to follow the rules. And in a sport that is widely seen as unfair by nature due to the absence of salary caps, this issue is further intensified. On top of this, for fraud to be committed in the world’s most popular domestic league, and the fourth most profitable sporting league in the world, is just absurd. But how does financial manipulation create this unfair playing field? Well, if you are able to reconstruct financial data in a way where expenses are lowered and revenue is raised, you can present yourself as a more profitable organisation. This in turn allows you to have more freedom when it comes to signing new players, scouting out talent, financing transfer fees, and paying higher wages to players which, as we have seen in the case of Ronaldo, can be north of $100 million dollars per year. In contrast, clubs who abide by these rules have less liberty when it comes to investing in their teams, and therefore, the quality of their teams will likely be significantly lower.
So, it is clear to see why the Premier League has taken a stern approach towards this matter. Financial manipulation poses a large threat to the equality of the sport. But how likely is it that these allegations will actually follow through? Well, it is hard to say, as like their financial records, City is trying to keep the scenario as cordoned as possible. Their reasoning for trying to keep this alleged scandal under wraps is due to the negative connotations that it brings to the club, and more importantly its sponsors. The sponsors of the club are some of the UAE’s most significant companies, including Etihad Airways. The damage of these brands is something that the owners are trying to avoid at all costs.
If Manchester City were to be found guilty of violating these Premier League rules, some of the sanctions (apart from league relegation previously mentioned) that could be imposed include: points deduction, suspension from games, the stripping of titles won in previous years, and recommendations to replay games. However, if they were found guilty, I’m not sure who the footballing community would be more furious with, Manchester City or the Premier League regulators who allowed the organisation to easily cheat the system for over a decade. Time will tell.