- Published
Manchester City's legal fight with the Premier League has the potential to "spiral out of control", a former top club executive has warned.
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executive → publish → control
Christian Purslow, a former Liverpool managing director and Aston Villa chief executive, who also held a senior role at Chelsea, said the case could begin a chain of events that would be "appalling for the game".
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that → manage → game
City have been found guilty of the vast majority of 115 charges brought forward by the Premier League.
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City → find → League
The club were accused of a wide range of rule breaches which centred around claims that they inflated sponsorship revenue from connected companies and made other "off the books" payments to circumvent football's financial rules.
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they → accuse → rules
Premier League clubs are seeking legal advice about compensation relating to the charges, while BBC Sport has been told that City will appeal.
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City → seek → charges
Sanctions on the club are yet to be announced, but repercussions could include a points deduction, expulsion from the Premier League or a huge fine.
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repercussions → announce → League
Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Purslow appeared alongside football law expert Paul Gilroy KC, who described the case as a "seismic moment for world football".
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who → speak → football
Purslow said: "It's a sort of 'where does this end?' because if you look at every single season - the nine seasons which we now know Manchester City breached rules - then all of their 19 Premier League rivals in that season, to differing extents, suffered easy-to-compute loss.
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all → say → loss
Teams that came fifth who didn't make the Champions League maybe lost tens of millions of pounds - and of course teams that were relegated.
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that → come → course
Let's say the team that finished 18th would've finished 17th if Manchester City weren't there.
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City → let → ?
And they, of course, suffered huge loss.
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they → suffer → loss
"If you add all those claims up, over nine years, and that's just in the Premier League, you can see that the potential here for this to spiral out of control is huge.
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this → add → control
"I really hope that common sense prevails here and that there is a comprehensive solution between the authorities and Manchester City that looks at all these issues and tries to draw a line in the sand.
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that → hope → sand
"Because a never-ending waterfall of legal claims and uncertainties for another four or five years would be absolutely appalling for the game."
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waterfall → end → game
Gilroy added that, so far, four clubs have put in protective claims "reserving the right to claim compensation if City are found guilty".
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City → add → compensation
The news, broken by the Athletic,, external came 1,327 days after City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023 following a four-year investigation, and 22 months after a hearing by an independent commission concluded.
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hearing → break → commission
No official announcement has been made by the Premier League, which has declined to comment.
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which → make → League
Manchester City declined to comment on whether they had been found guilty, instead providing a statement which read: "Premier League process remains ongoing with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality.
"
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process → decline → confidentiality
The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence."
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board → respect → influence
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has urged the Premier League to come to a quick resolution.
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Nandy → urge → resolution
She told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think most football fans will be feeling that this is not a good moment for football as a whole and I think Manchester City fans will be feeling very, very anxious about what happens next.
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what → tell → whole
It's very unsettling for football fans and I hope that it can be resolved as swiftly as possible.
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it → hope → fans
"I will obviously look very closely as what comes out of this but we can't apply those rules for the Premier League.
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we → look → League
They have got to do it themselves and are going to have to resolve this as swiftly as possible - not just for the sake of Manchester City but for the sake of football."
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They → get → football
Former chairman Bernstein feels 'absolutely awful'
City won eight trophies in the period covered by the case, including three Premier League titles, three EFL Cups, one Community Shield and one FA Cup.
The charges cover the managerial tenures of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, and the first two years under Pep Guardiola, who left the club at the end of last season after 10 years in charge.
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who → feel → charge
Former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein told Times Radio he felt "absolutely awful" on hearing the news of City being found guilty - but admitted any punishment would have to be "more drastic" than a fine.
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punishment → tell → fine
"To see all this tarnished in this way is very sad," he said.
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he → see → way
"I feel particularly bad for the wonderful supporters of the club who've stayed with the club through thick and thin.
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who → feel → thick
This whole process has taken too long already.
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process → take → ?
So the appeal process now has to be done quickly because you've got the club playing with this cloud over its head and it's just not viable.
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it → have → head
"The appeal process cannot go on for year after year, I think that would be a disaster, not just for this particular case but for English football generally.
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that → go → football
He continued: "I can't give a view on the punishment.
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I → continue → punishment
If they are found, after the appeal, guilty of 115 charges, my beloved club is going to face a very severe penalty.
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club → find → penalty
"All I would say is that money is not sufficient, it would have to be something, unfortunately, more drastic than that."
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it → say → that
Meanwhile, singer-songwriter Noel Gallagher says he is "shocked" at the news and it is "quite sad" for players and fans.
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it → say → players
"A little surprised when I heard it on the radio.
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I → hear → radio
Surprised because the club have assured us all along that they vehemently denied any of these charges," the Oasis star and City fan said on the Let Me Talk podcast.
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Me → assure → podcast
"So it was a bit of a shock to find out that we've been found guilty of all but one.
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we → find → one
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