Why PL Clubs are Already Frustrated by Man City Trial

Per the report, City’s hearing is completely confidential and their fate will be decided by an unnamed three-person panel. They could be relegated if found guilty. The location of the hearing was even kept from other clubs, and the next public release of information will come when the “final awards” are published. That may well be the final ruling, and it could arrive in months.

The Premier League is facing frustration from clubs over the cloak of secrecy that surrounds the sport’s “trial of the century” into the 115 alleged rules breaches by Manchester City.

Man City’s hearing is confidential and is held in private in front of an unnamed three-person commission by Section W of the league’s rules.

Public details of Man City charges have been restricted only to a basic list of the rules and seasons of each alleged breach and, while photographs have emerged of legal teams arriving at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London, even the location of the hearing was kept under wraps.

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A lack of shared information extends even to other Premier League clubs and, although what are deemed “interlocutory decisions” (judgments during the hearing) could be shared as deemed “appropriate”, the next definite update will arrive only when the commission’s “final awards” are published on the league website. Premier League rule W.44 even says only that the chair of the three-person commission “may” order that a transcript of proceedings be taken.

“We know the bill at the end – but not much else,” said one club insider, about how legal costs, which are expected to run well into the millions, can simply be deducted from the clubs’ central broadcast rights and commercial funds.

The Telegraph quotes a lawyer who has operated on a Premier League (PL) club’s behalf, who says: “Justice does not just need to be done – it needs to be seen to be done.

Sources argue that case being held in public would bring clarity, and accuracy and act as a future control and deterrent.

“There is no reason, in principle, why it is not being held in public. It would ensure it is covered accurately in the media and that the actual detail of any case – what exactly has been alleged and how it is being defended – is picked over and known to the fans.

“That in itself acts as a control over clubs and owners – who generally care very much about their image – to abide by the rules but is also a protection to help ensure a fair hearing.”

The Premier League (PL) hearing is likely to drag on for several months. On the pitch, Man City play Inter Milan in the Champions League in midweek.