Football

Wenger: "I can't believe a club like Man City could be charged with 115 FFP breaches in one season"

Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has commented on the allegations against Manchester City regarding breaches of financial fair play (FFP) regulations.

"At the moment you cannot hear a club like Man City being charged by 115 different charges in a football season. I don't believe in that. The Premier League already lost a case, the first case against them. I don't know them [City], I can't judge them.

I just think, 115 different charges against a football club today looks like we are in an international administration. Financial Fair Play rules have to be changed and made more simple. They [City owners] came in and they had not faced any Financial Fair Play nor have Chelsea. Chelsea, they bought my players [from Arsenal] and Chelsea also bought what they wanted because there were no Financial Fair Play rules.

I feel the rules of Financial Fair Play today have to be changed in the Premier League. Because they now face competition from other leagues, who have changed their Financial Fair Play rules," Wenger said in an interview with beIN Sports.

In February 2023, following an investigation that began in 2018, the Premier League charged Manchester City with 115 different breaches of FFP from the 2009/10 season to the 2017/18 season. Hearings for the case commenced in September, with a verdict expected next spring.

However, Manchester City previously won a legal case against the Premier League over matters related to transactions with associated parties. The club accused the league of discrimination and abuse of dominance due to a ban on deals with companies linked to club owners. Consequently, two of City's sponsorship deals that had been annulled by the Premier League were reinstated.

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