- City will fight 115 charges of breaching Premier League financial rules
- Lord Pannick KC is the club’s chief advocate and wore a blue tie to the IDRC
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Manchester City’s lawyers have arrived at the International Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC) for the second day of their high-profile hearing.
In a case dubbed ‘football’s trial of the century’, City will fight 115 charges alleging breaches of Premier League financial rules.
The proceedings, which began Monday, were shrouded in mystery as the location of the hearing remained unknown.
However, Mail Sport revealed that the case would be handled by the IDRC, which is considered ‘one of the world’s leading facilities for conducting arbitration proceedings’.
The city’s legal team, led by Lord Pannick KC, has now arrived at the IDRC for the second day of the hearing.
Lord Pannick KC is leading Manchester City’s legal defence against the 115 alleged breaches
He was seen wearing a blue tie with blue polka dots as he arrived for the second day of the hearing
Lord Pannick KC arrived at the International Dispute Resolution Centre, the venue for the trial
He wore a blue tie with dots in different shades of blue.
Lord Pannick is regarded as one of Britain’s top lawyers and was the first to arrive at the IDRC on the first day of the hearing.
Paul Harris KC and Philip Marshall KC also assist Pannick in their attempt to prove City’s innocence.
The Premier League’s lead lawyer is Adam Lewis KC, who has brought cases against Everton on behalf of the organisation over similar financial breaches.
If Lewis and his legal team prove City are guilty of the most serious financial violations, the club could face severe penalties, including relegation or a hefty points deduction.
All 115 complaints against the city are being investigated, assessed and analyzed by an independent commission.
Of those charges, 54 allege City failed to provide the league with accurate and up-to-date financial reports from 2009-10 through to 2017-18.
Thirty-five charges relate to the club’s alleged failure to co-operate with the Premier League investigation into their conduct between December 2018 and February 2023.
In recent years, City have also been accused of inflating the value of sponsorships associated with their owners.
The first allegations of financial irregularities at City came to light in 2018 when German media outlet Der Spiegel obtained documents via Football Leaks, a site run by Portuguese computer genius Rui Pinto.
A resolution to the city’s 115 charges is expected next spring or summer.