Manchester City was found guilty of more than 100 of the financial fair play charges, among others, against them, but no punishment has yet been handed down. That could come soon, as the Premier League is only giving the club a deadline of 2 October to appeal the finding of guilt.
That means, unfortunately, more news will likely be learned about the ongoing mess of City's charges by the end of the week of this article's posting. The unfortunate part is simply that fans are having to deal with this mess at all. They would follow the Blues no matter what level of the football pyramid City was in, but the ownership group may have pushed them out of the top level.
Again, we don't know what the punishment will be. What we do know now is that the league issued a statement on Tuesday that is fairly long and clearly examined by those who understand how to put out such statements so that legal coverage was applied.
Manchester City has until 2 October to appeal the charges against it
That doesn't mean someone was dotting their i's or crossing their t's for the sake of covering themselves. Literally, everyone is being as precise as legally warranted in this matter. Entities are trying to avoid lawsuits as much as possible because lawsuits will almost certainly be forthcoming from somewhere.
The entire situation is a mess, of course. The worst part is that Manchester City fans don't know what the future holds. Fans have watched as the club has been exceedingly successful since the Abu Dhabi United Group took over almost 20 years ago. That has brought joy and happy tears, but might have also brought legal issues of the club's doing.
Maybe. Possibly. Perhaps.
Those three words have more meaning here than they have ever had before because Man City and its fans know the charges. They have learned of the reporting of the charges, and now await their fate regarding the punishment. The future is less clear, and the success or relegation of the club remains in the balance.
It would have helped had those who run Man City been more helpful in the investigation and less outspoken about their stance on innocence, because if the charges hold up on appeal, then the club owners are less likely to face leniency. If they are presumed to be wrong, with the assumption that the wrongdoing was fully in the club's control and intentional, then sanctions will probably be harsh.
At least, Man City fans know the next step, and that is the appeal of guilt. The club has until 2 October to do so. After that, there is no known timeline for when the appeal will be heard.
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