manchester city premier league
:the 1st half, Sports

More Premier League controversy and MLS nail-biting in store this month

by Paul Desbaillets

Manchester City faces 115 corruption charges that could result in major ramifications.

Well it’s October and the wonderful world of football just keeps on giving. Manchester City is currently embroiled in a legal case that could have serious repercussions for the club’s future. The Premier League has charged last year’s champions with 115 alleged breaches of financial rules between 2009 to 2018. These charges include claims of inaccurate financial reporting, failing to disclose player and manager payments and not cooperating with league investigations. The charges have been under review by an independent commission since Sept. 16, with the outcome expected before the end of the 2024–25 season.

The case against Manchester City began in 2018. The Premier League conducted a four-year — that’s right, four-year — investigation before officially bringing charges in Feb. 2023. The main accusations involve inflating sponsorship revenues to meet UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) requirements and obscuring true spending, including wages and transfer fees.

Manchester City has strongly denied all allegations, and is confident that their name will be cleared. But if that is not the case, the potential ramifications for Manchester City are huge.

Manchester City denies Premier League allegations

If found guilty, the club could face a wide range of penalties, including:

  • Points deductions: This could derail City’s future Premier League campaigns, making it harder for them to compete for titles.
  • Stripping of titles: The club may lose some of its Premier League titles, particularly those won during the period under investigation.
  • Financial penalties: Although less impactful for a club backed by the Abu Dhabi United Group, financial fines could still be imposed.
  • Expulsion from the league: In an extreme scenario, City could be expelled from the Premier League… (Calm down, everyone, who wants that one?)

Now if the charges are dismissed, it could raise questions about the Premier League’s ability to regulate its clubs effectively. It would also open the door for other high-spending clubs to push the limits of financial fair play rules. My beloved Chelsea FC, we are looking at you.

A guilty verdict could also lead to further eyes on the Premier League’s governance at a time when calls for independent regulation of English football are growing in the U.K.

My feeling is that the club will pay a huge financial fine, lose points and be frozen out of a few transfer windows to show that the league is doing something. I’ve said it here, and that will be that.

CF Montréal jockeying for MLS playoff spot

On this side of the pond, the MLS regular season has a few teams jockeying for playoff positions. Here’s a look at the current standings:

Eastern Conference

  • Inter Miami CF leads the conference with 64 points after 30 matches, driven by their powerful attack, which has netted 68 goals this season.
  • FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew are tied on 56 points, both vying for higher playoff seeding, with Columbus boasting an impressive goal difference of +27. (Soft spot for that team.)
  • New York Red Bulls and Orlando City SC round out the top five, although they trail the leaders by a considerable margin.

Further down, Philadelphia Union and CF Montréal in 10th are fighting to secure playoff spots, with both teams needing to go ALL IN in the remaining matches to make it.

Western Conference

  • Los Angeles Galaxy sits at the top with 58 points, thanks to a strong home record and consistent performances.
  • Real Salt Lake and Colorado Rapids are also in strong positions with 51 and 50 points, both pushing for high seeds as the playoffs get closer in October.
  • Los Angeles FC and Houston Dynamo complete the top five, with playoff races tightening as the season draws to a close.

LAFC also just won the 2024 U.S. Open Cup at the end of September.

The battle for playoff spots in both conferences is heating up, with teams like Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps still very much in the hunt.

Let’s see what happens when we next meet in November. ■

LAFC wins U.S. Open Cup

Listen to The 1st Half Culture Show podcast monthly on YouTube and The 1st Half radio show on TSN690AM Fridays at 6 p.m.

This article was originally published in the Oct. 2024 issue of Cult MTL.

For more Montreal sports coverage, please visit our Sports section.

Posted in :the 1st half, Sports

by Paul Desbaillets

Contributor
Paul is a Canadian entrepreneur. He is a partner in Burgundy Lion Group which owns several establishments in his hometown of Montreal. Paul is also the founder of GOAL Initiatives Foundation, a national CRA charity making a difference through cultural development, wellness and youth sports programming. In 2019, Paul created the 1st Half Podcast Football Culture show, dedicated to all aspects of the beautiful game. Paul interviews chefs, musicians, artists, athletes, fanatics, influencers and anyone else he can find willing to talk to him about the football ecosystem.