Man City will appeal the independent commission’s decision that the club had broken Premier League financial rules, with Friday’s deadline the final element in the case.
City have always denied any wrongdoing and are likely to appeal the decision, which found the club used “sham” commercial contracts to artificially inflate revenue by more than 900m and suppress costs over nearly a decade.
The club said it had “irrefutable evidence” to back up its stance and was likely to contend that the Abu Dhabi government, rather than City owners, partly funded some of the sponsorship deals.
The commission dismissed this explanation in its reports.
City will also look to continue their legal challenge of the Premier League’s new fast-track appeals process, which stipulated that an appeal must be heard within 12 weeks of the notice of appeal, and a decision made within 30 days of the hearing.
Perhaps the club could argue that these policies have been added in after the club was billed.
There could be more than just a Premier League punishment for the financial case. The chair of the Treasury Committee, Meg Hillier, has written to HM Revenue and Customs to ask what steps it has taken since the report.
“I think that verdict opens the door to a number of other legal disputes. Other clubs, players and agents will look at their situation and think they could go down the same route.” Meanwhile, sports lawyers have warned that the decision could spark more legal cases.
City’s appeal will now decide the next phase of the case.
