Manchester City legal line-up to take on Premier League over 115 charges revealed | OneFootball

The legal line-up put together by Manchester City to battle the Premier League over their 115 charges has been reported this week.

The hearing – held at an initially ‘top-secret’ location in central London – is expected to last around 10 weeks, according to various media reports, which would conclude proceedings in late November or early December.

Many anticipate that a final verdict on matters could conclude in early 2025, and even in the likely event of an appeal from either party, a line would be drawn under the case before the end of the ongoing season.

Pep Guardiola himself has already indicated on many occasions that he is eager to see the case brought to a close for good, and exclaimed that belief during a recent press conference. “It starts soon and hopefully finishes soon,” the Manchester City manager said last week.

He continued, “I am looking forward to the decision. I’m happy it’s starting on Monday. I know there will be more rumours, new specialists about the sentences. We’re going to see.

“I know what people are looking forward to, what they expect, I know, what I read for many, many years. Everybody is innocent until guilt is proven. So we’ll see.”

But who are the people tasked with bringing Manchester City’s defence and case to the table of the independent commission?

A new report has detailed the high-profile list of legal heavyweights that Manchester City have turned to in order to defend the club at London’s International Dispute Resolution Centre.

That is according to a new report from The Telegraph’s Jeremy Wilson, who reveals that City’s legal line-up to take on the Premier League over the next 10 weeks is instructed by Chris Yates, Clifford Chance partner and head of the firm’s sports and entertainment group.

Blackstone Chambers’ Lord Pannick KC is joined by Monckton Chambers’ Paul Harris KC, who also notably led Manchester City’s successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020 against the UEFA ban over alleged breaches of the financial fair play.

Serle Court’s Philip Marshall KC is also accompanied by James Mather, who is understood to be playing a key role in Manchester City’s legal team and is another expert in large scale and complex commercial disputes, according to The Telegraph.

As for Marshall, it is reported that he is known for his ‘mastery of detail and forensic dissection of complex cases’, whilst specialising in commercial disputes and finance, particularly international fraud.

Whilst an appeal is likely from either side upon a decision being made, it must be pointed out that this type of case cannot go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Instead, a fresh hearing could be brought to the table, with a new independent panel arranged.

Manchester City are facing a total of 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information between 2009/10 and 2017/18, on top of 14 counts of failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments within the same timeframe.

Also among the 115 charges, there are five counts of failing to comply with UEFA’s rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) between 2013/14 and 2017/18, with seven counts of breaching the Premier League’s Profit & Sustainability rules between 2015/16 and 2017/18.