Manchester City Football Club have been charged by the Premier League for alleged violations of financial regulations. The club is accused of overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts, which were submitted to the governing body between 2012 and 2016 but will this have any impact on the Premier League title race this season?

According to the Premier League, Manchester City face disciplinary action for breaking rules related to Financial Fair Play (FFP), a set of regulations aimed at preventing clubs from spending more money than they generate.

The allegations against the club centre around a failure to disclose the true nature of its financial dealings with Etihad Airways, its main sponsor.

The news was confirmed by the Premier League in a statement, which said, “The Premier League has today informed Manchester City Football Club that it has been charged with breaches of the League’s Financial Regulations.”

The statement goes on to explain that Manchester City has until 25th February 2023 to respond to the charges and that the club will be given a fair hearing.

The development comes after leaked documents published by German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018 suggested that Manchester City had been trying to circumvent FFP rules.

Manchester City has always maintained its innocence, but the Premier League’s decision to charge the club indicates that there may be some substance to the allegations.

According to a tweet from Sporting Intelligence, City’s finances have been under investigation for two years, with the Premier League having been looking into the club’s accounts for the period between 2012 and 2016.

The tweet also reveals that the charges relate to “the true nature and value of payments made to the club by its sponsor, Etihad Airways.”

Sporting Intelligence’s Nick Harris, added, “It can’t be over-stated too much what a significant move this is for the PL. It’s taken 4 years. There are soooo many charges. It hasn’t been done lightly. The cop-out option would’ve been heaving fine for non-cooperation with investigation.

“This is NOT that. It’s dozens and dozens of serious allegations about long-term and widespread book-cooking. The ramifications for all concerned could be massive, including for Pep, who has been assured City never did anything wrong …

“As for sanctions … IF found guilty. They really could be anything from huge fines to transfer bans and spending limits, to docked points to stripped titles. Of course City will lawyer-up, yet again. Their legal obfuscation is why this has taken 4 years.”

Will Manchester City get a points deduction?

Make no mistake, the accusations against Manchester City, which have been called ‘unprecedented’ by The Times’ chief sports reporter, Martyn Ziegler, are major.

At this point, however, it is impossible to determine what the outcome will look like until the hearing and verdict.

That being said, the Premier League has several punishments for clubs that breach Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, including:

• Transfer Embargoes: Clubs may be prevented from registering new players in upcoming transfer windows.
• Reduced Squad Size: Clubs may have their squad size reduced for European competitions.
• Financial Penalties: Clubs may face fines or have a portion of their prize money withheld.
• Points Deduction: In extreme cases, clubs may have points deducted from their league total.

The exact punishment will depend on the severity of the breach(es) found and is generally determined on a case-by-case basis by the Premier League’s regulatory bodies.

Will this impact the Manchester City players?

Manchester City club and players are unlikely to see any direct impact this season but that doesn’t mean this news won’t have an effect.

We often forget that footballers are human like the rest of us and, as such, work stress can have a detrimental impact on their performance like anyone.

As any decent therapist will tell you, when faced with high levels of stress, individuals may experience decreased productivity, impaired decision-making, decreased creativity, and increased absenteeism. This can lead to decreased engagement in their work and lower job satisfaction. On a football pitch, that leads to things like losing at Tottenham.

Additionally, stress can also lead to physical and mental health problems, such as headaches, insomnia, and anxiety, which can further impact an individual’s ability to perform effectively at work.

Some players might have been considering leaving at the end of the season but will be wondering if a transfer embargo is going to stop that.

Some might have wanted new, improved contracts that won’t be allowed to be offered.

Then there is Pep Guardiola himself who, as Harris mentioned above, has been reassured the club have acted legally. How will he feel if he finds out they have lied to him all this time? Actually, that’s a question we don’t have to ask. We already know his feelings on that:

https://twitter.com/BBCMOTD/status/1622559491341287424

In short, it all serves as more reasons a side that has already seemed unsettled this season could become even more so.

And that can only be a good thing for Arsenal and their own Premier League ambitions.

At least, we can but hope…