How much trouble are Citeh in?

Manchester City are in a world of hurt.

Some points to make, as I have spent the last ten days, since the leak of the 114 guilty findings, reading and watching posts by experts in various fields, and have come up with the following points:

1. Ignore the sports pundits and commentators, as this goes far beyond sport. As most can't explain the offside or handball rules now, don't expect them to understand the Premier League and FA's rul book in any detail.

2. Citeh have been found guily by an independantly appointed panel of 114 of the 115 charges brought in March 2023.

3. All charges relating to finance have been found proven.

4. Plus a whole load more stating not only were Citeh unhelpful, they were willfully so, and some of their most important witness for Citeh's defence said things they knew were untrue.

4. The evidence Citeh say is irrefutable has already been refuted by the panel.

5. In their appeal, Citeh (nor the PL) can present new evidence.

6. Citeh had the right, and have appealed to the findings.

7. The appeal must be heard within 12 weeks, which takes them to Christmas, and the result a month later.

8. A new panel will be conviened to hear the sanctions (punishment).

9. There is no president for this case, so there's no point in looking at the points deduction of Everton and Nottingam Forest.

10. There are limitless powers given to the sanction pannel to issue, including explusion from the Premier League and stripping of titles.

11. If Citeh are expelled from the PL, then by the EPL rules, they would enter League 2. Not the Championship.

12. In the appeal, mitigating factors like co-operation will be taken into account. As there has been little or no co-operation, the pentalties will be harsher. Possibly far harsher.

13. Citeh will have been warned by their very expensive counsel of the risks of being over-aggressive in this case.

14. At the end of the sanctions hearing, both Citeh and the PL will state what they think the penalties should be, but the panel will decide.

15. The result of the sanctions can be appealled by both Citeh and the PL.

16. Citeh could, and probably will appeal to the High Court, either of points of procedure or law. The bar for such a challenge is very high indeed, and likely to fail.

17. Citeh could change tack, and co-operate, and attempt a plea bargain. But it seems the club wants to bring everything down with it, no matter the financial and reputation cost.

18. The Premier League will have to ensure the punishment (s) fit the crime (s), so to deter other clubs from something similar in the future, so to protect the integrety of the League, satisfying media and commercial partners that the competition is free from financial doping.

19. The use of dual contracts for Roberto Mancina and possibly Pep could result in fines and other punishment for tax evasion, though this is unlikely.

20. Filing false company accounts is, however, a much more serious offence, and could result in some members of the club's membership being barred from not just being in football, but also barred from being an owner or director of a company in the UK.

21. The anger of other clubs in the PL during this period should not be understated, and demand will be not just for punishment, but also to sue for percieved loss ernings of the clubs, and loss of earnings and bonuses for individual players.

22. If the result of the appeal, sanctions, appeals to the High and/or Supreme Court, are not completed by the end of the season, then will the team that finished 18th in the PL really be relegated, or if they are, could that be reversed later? Bearing in mind that the fixtures for the new season, to allow media partners to choose game to broadcast, are released by the end of the third week of June, giving all the above a very tight timeline before next season descends into chaos, where possibly fixtures for the PL, Championship and League 2 could be subject to significant change.

23. They only parties to come out of this up, will be lawyers and barristers. And journalists.