LaLiga's Tebas Calls for Severe Punishment as Man City Found Guilty of Financial Rule Breaches
Manchester City Faces Severe Sanctions After Financial Rule Breaches
By Lori Ewing and Iain Axon
Independent Panel Finds Manchester City Guilty
LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - LaLiga president Javier Tebas said on Tuesday that Manchester City should face the harshest punishments available after findings of long-running financial rule breaches, arguing the case should serve as a warning to clubs across Europe.
On Monday, a soccer source confirmed media reports that an independent panel had found City guilty of all but one of 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
City, who have always denied any wrongdoing and did not immediately respond to a request for comment, could face sanctions ranging from fines and a points deduction to relegation.
Tebas' Longstanding Concerns
"I've been raising concerns about Manchester City for many years. I did so in 2017 at Soccerex. I said it then; neither City nor the Premier League at the time liked it," Tebas said.
Broader Implications for European Football
Speaking to reporters between sessions of the Peak Performance & Health Summit, co-hosted in London by global players' union FIFPRO and The Cleveland Clinic, Tebas said the case had implications far beyond English football.
"Now it has been shown that there was ongoing non-compliance dating back to 2009," he said.
"We're trying to make football sustainable and clean across all competitions. As many clubs are saying, titles were lost that shouldn't have been lost to other clubs. What has happened is very important, and we hope it marks a turning point, not just for the Premier League.
"The Manchester City case has implications across Europe, particularly regarding financial doping. There should be a punishment that sets an example."
Severity of the Breaches
Tebas said the length of time over which the rules had allegedly been broken warranted a tough response.
"Breaking them for more than 10 years ... is very serious," he said. "The punishment should therefore be severe, not only to set an example, but because the rules were broken."
Potential Legal and Regulatory Consequences
Premier League clubs are seeking legal advice about compensation, according to British media reports.
Tebas was asked whether teams from other European leagues might follow suit.
"They could, but not specifically because of City," Tebas said.
UEFA's Previous Sanctions and CAS Appeal
European soccer's governing body UEFA banned City from the Champions League for two years in 2020 after finding the club had overstated sponsorship revenue between 2012 and 2016.
City, however, successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which overturned the ban.
"In my opinion, the decisions by the Court of Arbitration for Sport should be reviewed," Tebas said. "It overturned the sanction UEFA had imposed, and that decision was very questionable. Now it has been shown that UEFA was right about the sanctions against Manchester City."
Impact on Football's Regulatory System
Maheta Molango, the chief executive officer of the Professional Footballers' Association in England, said the prolonged nature of the case undermined confidence in football's regulatory system.
"Our concern is the impact on the broader ecosystem and trust in the rules and trust in institutions," Molango said.
"If there's one lesson to be learned, it is that we need to have rules, those rules need to be abided by and there needs to be a consequence. But the consequence needs to be immediate."
Uncertainty for Players and the Industry
Molango lamented the fact that players are caught up in the uncertainty.
"The City case is a case that is being reviewed. We all hoped it would be concluded yesterday or the day before, but that's not the case," he said. "There are human beings behind all those stories, and people trying to achieve certain things in their careers.
"What we owe everyone in this industry is certainty, whatever that certainty actually means. It's a question of knowing what the rules are and making sure that we uphold the rules."
(Writing by Lori Ewing; reporting by Iain Axon, Lori Ewing;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
