Man United among four Premier League clubs to take early legal action against Man City over financial breaches | OneFootball

Manchester United are reportedly among four Premier League clubs who have lodged legal notices for the right to receive compensation in the event that Manchester City are found guilty of their 115 breaches of financial rules.

City’s case is currently being heard by an independent commission and if they’re found guilty, the reigning champions could be kicked out of the top flight.

Among other things, City are being accused of failing to provide accurate financial information for nine separate seasons beginning 2009 and not availing the full details of Roberto Mancini and other players’ pay during their time at the Etihad Stadium.

An outcome on the case is not expected before the close of the year.

If the charges against City are proven, clubs could claim for loss of income as a result of missing out on Champions League qualification and any other European competition and the Premier League title. These claims could run into the hundreds of millions of pounds.

According to Martyn Ziegler of The Times reveals, “Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have taken the step of formally registering possible compensation claims via arbitration before a potential statute of limitations deadline last week.”

“The commission can make an order for compensation to be paid but it is understood that, because of laws around time limits to register such claims, there was concern among the clubs that it would be too late to wait until the case had been resolved.”

“The compensation notices were served after the four clubs were advised by lawyers there was a potential six-year statute of limitations period dating from November 5, 2018, when the German website Der Spiegel first published the Football Leaks documents.”

Despite the fact that City’s alleged rule breaches date as far back as 2009, the UK’s 1980 Limitation Act – which sets a six-year limit for legal claims regarding contract breaches – includes an exception for cases where the breach was concealed. This exception permits the six-year period to start from when the details of the alleged breaches became public.

Ziegler explains that clubs cannot directly sue each other in court but can seek legal redress through arbitration.

It’s understood that United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs declined to comment when contacted by The Times for comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils are back in action on November 24 when they travel to Portman Road to face Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town.