‘I’m hearing so many things’ – Keith Wyness shares new Man City 115 charges verdict
Manchester City “conspiracy theories” have emerged after their 115 charges case has reached a new milestone.
That is according to former Everton, Aston Villa and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, who exclusively told Football Insider people have been suggesting the Premier League’s TV contract could be impacted by the verdict.
The situation has now been ongoing for more than three years after Man City were dealt the charges by the Premier League on 6 February 2023 for allegedly breaching the financial fair play (FFP) rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018.
Pep Guardiola’s side are alleged to have concealed payments through third parties by disguising them as sponsorship revenue.
An independent commission hearing started in September 2024 and ended in December that same year, with the panel still considering its verdict.
Why Man City could have already received 115 charges decision
Man City have shown signs of confidence the decision will go in their favour after continuing to strengthen their squad and agreeing key sponsorship deals.
However, little information has been revealed to the public about the case.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness revealed what he’s heard about Man City’s situation.
“Well, we’re getting into the realms of major conspiracy theories sprouting up everywhere,” said Wyness.
“I’m hearing so many things about how the TV contract would be affected if City got relegated, all these sort of things coming out. I think that they are, as I’ve been maintaining for a while, still trying to find an elegant solution behind the scenes to save face for both sides.
“I think that’s still what really is trying to be done. They say they haven’t reached the full opinion yet. I doubt that very much. I know it’s complex, but I think there’s been enough time to do this.”
Why Man City’s 115 charges case is ‘damaging the game’
Wyness insisted the Man City case is currently “damaging the game” as the wait continues for the panel’s verdict.
“I know it’s 115 charges, but actually it is only 115 charges, and there’s been enough time to have gone through each of those in detail,” said Wyness.
“Actually, quite a lot of them are actually blocked together in terms of the actual subjects they cover, so it isn’t really 115 individual charges. There’s blocks, probably about three or four major headings that they would be covered under.
“Yes, it’s damaging the game. There’s no point in me repeating everything we’ve said before, but it is a case now that it’s becoming a really big elephant in the room for the Premier League for the future and for all the shareholders.
“The 19 other clubs within the Premier League at the moment and the three that will come in and the three that will go down. It affects everybody right now and it affects I would think all the media bidding and all the new contracts coming up at some stage, so it has a knock-on effect everywhere.”
Man City are expected to appeal if the verdict goes against them after insiting they haven’t done anything wrong at the Etihad Stadium.
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