How Man City are using Chelsea to limit possible sanctions after being found guilty 114 times
Man City have been found guilty in 114 of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League, and now, fans are awaiting the sanctions against the club. City are using Chelsea to limit those.
In the last few weeks, City were found to have been in breach of all but one of the 115 charges. It is said that City misled auditors and deliberately falsified sponsorship payments to abide by Financial Fair Play.
It allowed City to continue to spend big, while other clubs like Everton, Nottingham Forest and Leicester have all suffered points deductions, despite breaching the rules just a few times. City fans are concerned.
Other fans want justice, and many believe a points deduction that enforces relegation is required. NBA star and Chelsea fan Josh Hart is fuming after learning City doctored their payment records by £900m.
The situation: Chelsea’s record £10.75m Premier League fine
During their due diligence when taking over from Roman Abramovich back in 2022, BlueCo and Todd Boehly found Chelsea had been making illegal payments. BlueCo reported the findings to the League.
Boehly and BlueCo organised a £150m discount on the purchase of the club from Abramovich, which was previously set at £2.5bn. Boehly, who has since sold his stake, bought Chelsea for £2.35bn due to this.
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The £150m was set aside for incoming fines from the Premier League and the FA. The Premier League handed Chelsea a record £10.75m fine, and the FA are expected to have followed suit, with only a fine.
Chelsea worked with the Premier League, and it saw the Blues avoid a points deduction, while Man City have consistently denied breaking the rules. City have even launched an appeal; sanctions will take time.
Now, City are using Chelsea’s fine to limit their sanctions
City’s fines are more numerous and more serious, and they have not cooperated. Yet, according to The Times’ former reporter Tony Evans on The Athletic podcast, City are using Chelsea’s fine to limit sanctions.
City believe their punishment should fall in line with Chelsea’s fine, which included no points deduction but a suspended one-year transfer ban. But the Premier League has declared City’s finances are a ‘sham’.
Evans reports: “I’m reliably told that City will lean on the Chelsea verdict when they were fined £10.75m, given a suspended transfer ban for 30 transgressions, and Chelsea certainly weren’t stripped of the title.
“People keep saying to me, ‘oh, but Chelsea cooperated,’ that’s not much of a mitigation, to be honest. City are going to say, “The proportionality needs to be in the same area as Chelsea’s punishment.”
A new panel has been appointed for City’s appeal, but according to Martin Ziegler on the latest Overlap podcast, it is likely sanctions will not be announced until the end of the current Premier League season.
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