As rival fans celebrate the potential humiliation of Manchester City, and the Premier League slaps itself on the back for standing up to one of its strongest clubs, be careful what you wish for. The real winners may be the sports lawyers.
City are clearly in a defiant mood and they have some of the
best lawyers available. I am not a lawyer,
but I can see one way in which the whole governance structure of the Premier
League and indeed football more generally could be challenged in the domestic
courts.
The Premier League, it is at risk of full-blown warfare. If
City are guilty of systematic cheating, their rivals will argue they have been
denied hundreds of millions in earning potential through unfair means.
Already, the New York Times has reported that
Manchester United have conducted internal analyses to assess the extent of the
losses they incurred due to Manchester City’s success, including three
second-placed Premier League finishes behind City and one occasion in 2015-16
when United missed out to City for a place in the Champions League.
Consider the case that Tottenham Hotspur, for example, might
hypothetically bring. During a period when they were preparing to construct a
new stadium, the London club exercised restraint in its spending. But between
2011 and 2015, they finished fifth in the Premier League three times while City
resided in the top four, during a period when City are accused of accelerating
their success through unfair means.
How different might Spurs’ following years have been with
the substantial income of those three extra years in the Champions League?
Every club and its legal departments could go down
cul-de-sacs, arguing hypotheticals in courtrooms in the coming years.
In the meantime, the Premier League, which is one of Britain’s
few successful products, could be damaged.
Relations between the UK and the UAE could be jeopardised. One possibility is that Sheikh Mansour could
decide to sell the club.
Something of the tall poppy syndrome is at work here, cutting
down something that is successful. And
while we are talking about cheating, we see it on the pitch every week at all
levels of the game.
I haven’t read the judgment.
What is clear is that the appeal process could go on for some time. Sanctions may well eventually be applied, but
they need to be placed in the context of the wider damage they could cause.
"I haven’t read the judgment" Nor has anyone else, as there hasn't been a judgement from anyone in a position to pass such judgement in a 'Confidential' legal process.........
ReplyDeleteGood point and, of course, the PL has made no comment yet, but that has not stopped endless speculation and jumping to conclusions.
Delete"endless speculation and jumping to conclusions" and that's all it is. Even respected outlets and journalists (who to be fair are few and far beteeen) have been sucked in by the frenzied diatribe in the mainstream media and everyone else with an uninformed view. What it needs is somebody brave enough to put their head above the parapet and say "Hold on a minute, there has been no statement or determination by the Premier League, and those who publish excitable guesswork as fact should very careful as if and when City are cleared of most (if not all) of the charges and/or they prove that the Premier League have presided over massive breaches of anti-competition law and abused thier position at the behest of the red cartel, they will find themselves i the crosshairs of City's legal team. Even Khaldoon Mubarak's statement wasn't a 'statement' as it was a letter of reassurance to City fans, and a warning to those ignoring due legal process. I believe the man (his involvement with sovereign states, global businesses etc would beg the question as to why he would be party to such an alleged fraud) but City as a club won't and can't respond as there is nothing credible to respond too. And it would be very unprofessional to respond to other club or media guesswork and uninformed comment. IMHO.
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