Man City to be hit with Premier League sanctions next year if appeal fails

{"text":[[{"start":10.24,"text":"Sanctions against Manchester City will be handed down next year if the club fails next month to successfully appeal findings that it breached the Premier League’s financial rules."}],[{"start":19.86,"text":"The football club’s appeal against a ruling that it artificially inflated its financial position by more than £900mn over a nine-year period is set to go ahead in mid-December, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The hearing may run for a number of days, the people said."}],[{"start":35.88,"text":"A judgment from that appeal is expected to be handed down by an independent appeal board in the new year, followed by a decision on sanctions should the appeal prove unsuccessful, according to the people."}],[{"start":46.8,"text":"The timing of proceedings has been closely guarded, with some previously suggesting sanctions could be announced before the appeal process had concluded."}],[{"start":54.92,"text":"If City’s appeal fails, the Premier League rule book gives the independent commission sweeping powers to impose whatever sanction it sees fit, ranging from fines and points deductions to expulsion from the Premier League."}],[{"start":67,"text":"It isn’t clear when any sanctions would take effect, and punishments are also open to appeal. That means the uncertainty hanging over the Premier League — the most popular domestic competition in global football — could still stretch on beyond the current season ending in May, and possibly for years to come, legal experts have warned."}],[{"start":85.74,"text":"The Premier League and City declined to comment on the timings of any future legal hearings."}],[{"start":90.56,"text":"A judgment published by the independent commission in September found City guilty of all but one of the 115 charges laid against it in 2023, including arranging sponsorship deals, disguising funding from its owner and breaching the competition’s spending limits."}],[{"start":105.56,"text":"Under a funding scheme used by the club, a private Abu Dhabi investment company ultimately controlled by Emirati royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who owns City, topped up fees paid by some commercial sponsors, according to the ruling."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":119.04,"text":"Meanwhile, Football Leaks founder Rui Pinto, who shared a cache of documents including confidential emails with media that led to the investigation of City, is in talks with UK prosecutors about assisting in exposing more sporting crime, according to his lawyer."}],[{"start":133.2,"text":"The UK Serious Fraud Office was now in contact with Pinto, his lawyer, William Bourdon, said."}],[{"start":137.52,"text":"Pinto has been in a witness protection programme in Portugal since 2020. The country threatened to withdraw support for Pinto in September before U-turning following a challenge from his lawyers."}],[{"start":148.4,"text":"Bourdon, a French lawyer, has represented other high-profile whistleblowers, including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the former US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden. Discussions between Pinto and the SFO were earlier reported by The Guardian."}],[{"start":163.64,"text":"An SFO spokesperson said: “In line with long-established practice to avoid prejudice to law enforcement activity, we can neither confirm nor deny any investigation into this matter.”"}],[{"start":179.16,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1794582135_5774.mp3"}