Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak issued a direct message to supporters on Saturday as the club faces the potential of losing its landmark case with the Premier League over accusations of financial breaches. City has reportedly been found guilty of nearly all of the 100-plus charges against the club, which could result in punishments such as a huge points deduction or even expulsion from English soccer's top division. The club has always denied wrongdoing, the AP reports, and Al Mubarak restated that stance in a letter to fans.
"The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the club's innocence is just as strong as when this began," he wrote. "There are so many things that I would like to be able to share with you to help you understand why we feel so confident in our position." Confidentiality conditions, he said, prevent that. The accusations, if proven, would indicate "cheating on an industrial scale," World Soccer writer Henry Winter told Agence France-Presse. "This affects the Manchester economy, this affects issues in the northwest," Winter said, "this affects geopolitical elements between the United Kingdom and the UAE, who are effectively the owners of Manchester City."
A former Liverpool executive warned of the effects on soccer. "A never-ending waterfall of legal claims and uncertainties for another four or five years would be absolutely appalling for the game," Christian Purslow told the BBC. A former City chairman said a finding of guilty would call for more than a financial punishment. "All I would say is that money is not sufficient—it would have to be something, unfortunately, more drastic than that," David Bernstein told Times Radio.
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