This is the top-secret location of Manchester City’s ‘trial of the century’ which could end with them being relegated from the Premier League.
City’s trial into their 115 charges for allegedly breaching the Premier League’s financial rules between 2009 and 2018 is getting underway today at a hush-hush location in central London.
The independent hearing is expected to last around 10 weeks and City strongly deny all charges, with a verdict reportedly not anticipated until Spring 2025.
Fifty-four of the charges relate to City’s alleged failure to provide accurate financial information about the club’s revenues.
And Mail Sport can reveal that their trial is being held at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London, just a two-minute walk from St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Man City’s trial is taking place at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in central London
It’s an expensive day out – you have to pay £13.95 if you want a sandwich there, and £35 for buffet food
Manchester City face 115 charges of Financial Fair Play rules and regulations breaches
The grandly titled centre is an expensive day out. It will set you back £13.95 if you want to buy a sandwich there, while ‘refreshments’ are £11.95.
Buffet food, hot or cold, will hit your wallet to the tune of £35.
All the charges faced by Manchester City are serious and if they are proved to have broken all or some of these charges, serious repercussions should be expected.
The charges against the club will be investigated, reviewed and analysed by an independent commission.
Of the 115 charges, City are facing 54 allegations of a failure to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information to the league from 2009-10 to 2017-18.
This allows the FFP a ‘true and fair’ view of a club’s revenue which includes sponsorship deals and their operating cost, which involve player salaries.
Every club in the Premier League signs up to a code of compliance, which essentially translates to clubs agreeing to behave themselves and provide the league with accurate and up-to-date accounts that are expected to be audited each year.
Over the past few years City have been accused of inflating the value of their sponsorships which are connected to their owners.
They are also facing 14 charges for a failure to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation for those seasons.
The Manchester outfit are also facing 35 charges for failures to comply with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to the present day.
All of City’s 115 charges were first reported by German outlet, Der Spiegel.
More to follow.