Both Manchester City and Chelsea may face relegation from the Premier League if they are found guilty of Financial Fair Play breaches, according to lawyer Stefan Borson.
Everton were handed a 10-point deduction on Friday as a punishment for breaking FFP regulations and, with City facing 115 separate breaches themselves, Borson suggests a harsher judgement could be meted down to the champions:
Without seeing the judgment/award -10 points for Everton feels harsh for a straightforward FFP breach to me. But reinforces that sanctions against City (if proven) and now Chelsea (if charged and admitted on the off-books payments) will be potentially relegation inducing.
— slbsn (@slbsn) November 17, 2023
Borson is said to have worked for City as a financial advisor in the past so his remarks do carry some weight, although (as he admits himself), he is somewhat speculating as he has not (yet) read the full explanation for the punishment that Everton received.
What are the charges that City are facing?
The Cityzens have been accused of breaching 115 different FFP regulations between 2009 and 2018. An independent commission has already been set up to look into each charge.
Lawyers led by Lord Pannick will be tasked with defending the Premier League champions against these allegations. In terms of how long it will take for a judgement, legal experts have suggested that it may take up to two years.
What have City said about the Premier League charges?
Due to the ongoing legal process, the Cityzens can’t speak specifically about the breaches but, after the charges were made public in June, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said:
“These are proceedings that take whatever time they take and when we’re done, we’ll have a conversation. I’ll give you my very blunt views, I promise you that. I have very strong views on that, but I am going to be unfortunately very restrained today.”
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