LaLiga president Javier Tebas has called for Manchester City to be punished in their ‘trial of the century’.
City are facing 115 charges for allegedly breaching the Premier League’s financial rules and the independent hearing is expected to last around 10 weeks, with a verdict anticipated next spring.
Tebas’ comments obviously carry the assumption that City are in some way guilty, but the club deny all charges.
‘The Premier League shouldn’t give in to pressure, right? Manchester City is just another club, and when you lead an association, you have to act,’ he told GiveMeSport.
‘The Premier League shouldn’t differentiate between big or small, or important and “non-important”, clubs. Manchester City is a member of the association that has committed irregularities and should receive the sanction it deserves. If not, the competition’s authority will be lost.’
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has claimed Manchester City should be punished and that the Premier League’s ‘authority will be lost’ if they are not
Manchester City face 115 charges of Financial Fair Play rules and regulations breaches
54 of the charges relate to City’s alleged failure to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information to the league from 2009-10 to 2017-18.
Thirty-five relate to their alleged failure to cooperate with the Premier League investigation into their conduct between December 2018 and February 2023.
If City are found guilty of the most serious charges, it could result in them being relegated from the Premier League.
In 2020, UEFA banned City from European competiton for two seasons after finding them guilty of falsely inflating sponsorship revenues between 2012 and 2016. That followed revelations from German outlet Der Spiegel, who in 2018 published the first of its allegations based on documents it obtained via Football Leaks.
However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned their ban later that year and cut their fine from £25.3million to £8.4m. Man City called UEFA’s ruling ‘flawed and prejudicial’.
Tebas added: ‘There are more than 115 accusations. I don’t know everything, but I know what happened regarding Manchester City’s UEFA case, and quite well. Let’s not forget UEFA sanctioned City by not allowing them to compete in the Champions League.
‘Then CAS, in a very controversial decision, acquitted them instead of accusing them. I would say that was one of the biggest failures in the history of CAS on a legal issue.
‘It was demonstrated [by UEFA] that they should have been sanctioned and some of those charges are now being pursued by the Premier League.
Tebas believes it was one of the CAS’ ‘biggest failures’ to overturn UEFA’s ban on City from European competition
A verdict of Manchester City’s 115 charges isn’t expected until the spring or summer 2025
Man City’s trial is taking place at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in central London
‘I can tell you that everyone knows how City has acted in recent years. I hope it’s just a matter of evidence, and that the Premier League know how to prove it well, because the facts are clear. I have spoken with many Premier League clubs and most understand City should be sanctioned.’
He has previously hit out at City in a bid to protect the interests of Spanish football, telling Mundo Deportivo: ‘They have an economic dumping that was damaging to Spanish football. We could not do the same because we would return to 2010, when clubs disappeared due to debts.’