Why Man City Are Yet to Face Sanctions for 115 Charges As Everton Get Docked Points Again

Why Man City Are Yet to Face Sanctions for 115 Charges As Everton Get Docked Points Again

Martin Moses
updated at April 9, 2024 at 9:07 AM
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  • Everton have been deducted points again for breaching EPL financial rules
  • Sean Dyche's side have been docked eight points amid a relegation battle
  • Sports Brief breaks down why Manchester City is yet to know their fate

Everton have been docked points for the second time this season after the Premier League confirmed they will be deducted two points for flouting the Profitability and Sustainability rules.

The Toffees had been accused alongside Nottingham Forest, with Nuno Espirito's side getting docked four points in March.

This comes only a few months after Everton was docked 10 points for similar charges for 2021/2022 - this second charge is for 2022/2023.

Everton, Manchester City. Nottingham Forest, Premier League financial rules
Everton captain, Seamus Coleman, leads out his side ahead of their game against Aston Villa on January 14. Photo by Daniel Chesterton.
Source: Getty Images

In a hard-hitting statement, Everton expressed concern about the concept of double punishment. Sean Dyche's side were first deducted 10 points which was reduced to six before the new punishment.

"Everton remains committed to working collaboratively with the League on all matters relating to PSR but is extremely concerned by the inconsistency of different commissions in respect of points deductions applied."

What were Everton and Nottingham been accused of?

The Premier League PSR rules dictate that a club is allowed to lose £105m over three seasons. Clubs in the Championships, where Nottingham was for two seasons in the said paid, have a cap of £61m.

In their first case, for which they were deducted 10 points, the Toffees were found to have exceeded the limit by £19.5m.

But even as these new developments came to the fore, questions arose as to why Manchester City's case has 'stalled' almost a year after they were charged with 115 different counts of financial breaches.

The Premier League presented its charge sheet to the defending champions. It referred its case to an independent commission, but to date, no updates have been provided on when the hearing will commence.

Why are Manchester City's 115 charges taking longer?

Sports Brief has previously dug deep into what Manchester City were accused of and their possible punishments if found guilty.

For starters, unlike the Everton case, where the commission only had to rummage through documents for two seasons, City's case is complex given that the investigation took place in a span of nine years, i/e, from 2009 to 2018.

As The Athletic avers, the commission will be stuck in compiling evidence and witness statements before moving on to the hearing process, which could be another year.

Manchester City's case

Additionally, Pep Guardiola's side have been charged with a series of cases, which include flouting UEFA's Financial Fair Play Rules, failure to disclose its financial dealings to the premier league, hiding managerial revenue, breaching profitability and sustainability rules and not cooperating with the Premier League in good faith.

This, compared to the rather 'straightforward' cases of Everton and now Nottingham, will require more time to determine.

The reigning European champions were banned by UEFA in 2020 but moved to the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS), where the ruling was overturned, and they were fined instead.

The club has always maintained its innocence and has vowed to clear the issue 'once and for all.'

Other EPL sides that have faced points deduction

Sports Brief has also reported that Everton are not the first team to face a points deduction in the Premier League.

Middlesbrough became the first club to be docked points in 1997 after they failed to show up for a game against Blackburn Rovers, claiming that they were without 23 players due to illness.

They failed to provide proof and thus were deducted three points.

Authors
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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)