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Rival clubs seek compensation from City

Four of Manchester City’s main rivals have lodged legal notices reserving the right to seek compensation if the club are found guilty of serious charges among the 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have taken the step of formally registering possible compensation claims via arbitration before a potential statute of limitations deadline last week, sources have told The Times. The clubs involved all declined to comment.

The charges against City are still being heard by an independent regulatory commission, with the outcome not expected until the new year. The commission can make an order for compensation to be paid but it is understood that, because of laws around time limits to register such claims, there was concern among the clubs that it would be too late to wait until the case had been resolved. 

Chelsea are not believed to have lodged a legal notice relating to compensation. They have their own Premier League investigation to contend with after they self-reported alleged irregular payments during the Roman Abramovich era. That could also lead to compensation claims from rivals but there is no looming deadline for the case.

The compensation notices were served after the four clubs were advised by lawyers there was a potential six-year statute of limitations period dating from November 5, 2018, when the German website Der Spiegel first published the Football Leaks documents.

If the charges against City are proven, clubs could claim for loss of income for missing out on the league title, qualification for the Champions League or other European competitions over the course of several seasons, which could total hundreds of millions of pounds.

Clubs cannot sue each other through the courts under Premier League rules but they can do so through arbitration under Rule X. Five clubs applied for compensation when Everton were sanctioned for breaching Profitability and Sustainability Rules last season — Leeds United, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Southampton — but those claims have since been withdrawn or are unresolved.

In the City case, lawyers are understood to have advised clubs that if they waited until the outcome of the hearing into the 115 alleged rule breaches then there was a risk any compensation claim could be deemed to be out of time.

The Foreign Office is understood to be concerned about the implications of the City case for Britain’s relations with Abu Dhabi and is being kept informed of developments.    Don’t underestimate the geopolitical dimension.    This is not just about big sums of money,

 

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