Lee Dixon insists it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest if Arsenal won a title because Man City were deducted points after their FFP hearing.
The Citizens lawyers arrived at London’s International Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC) on Monday as a hearing to examine 115 Premier League charges issued against the club began.
Lord Pannick KC from Blackstone Chambers, who is leading City’s legal team, was pictured arriving at the IDRC, close to St Paul’s Cathedral in central London.
The hearing is reported to have been scheduled for 10 weeks, with the independent commission’s verdict not expected until the new year.
The charges facing , who won a fourth straight Premier League title in May, date back as far as the 2009-10 season.
It is thought the club, who are also accused of failing to co-operate with an investigation, could face a range of punishments including a severe points penalty or even expulsion from the Premier League if found guilty.
Man City were charged by the league in February 2023 after a long investigation into allegations published by German magazine Der Spiegel in autumn 2018.
The club deny any wrongdoing and have previously said they have a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” to support their stance.
And now former Arsenal defender Dixon explains why relegating Man City if they were found guilty would be complicated but insisted he would have no problem with a points deduction this season if it meant the Gunners won the title.
Dixon told Gambling Zone: You’re trying to put the hammer of justice in my hand! I don’t think anyone knows how this trial is going to go and what the likely punishment for Manchester City will be.
What we do know is that it will likely be a drawn-out process, and the punishment will depend on what rules they have been found guilty of breaking. I’d be amazed if they were found guilty of all of the hundred-odd charges, perhaps the Premier League will be prioritising the charges they feel they can win on.
Nobody knows what is going to happen. You would think that if they’re found guilty on a number of them, then City are probably looking at some serious points deductions, possibly relegation. Relegation is also complicated because then your passing the problem onto the EFL.
I can’t see the club taking a financial penalty. That would be completely meaningless in my eyes as they can just write a cheque for whatever the fine is.
I also don’t think that the Premier League would take away any of their titles won during the period they allegedly broken the rules because that opens up a serious can of worms for several other teams in the Premier League; teams that went down, missed out on European football… that would really open Pandora’s Box.
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Dixon added: It wouldn’t bother me in the slightest if Arsenal won a title or had an easier run at the title because City are given a points deduction. What’s happening at City has got absolutely nothing to do with Arsenal, it means nothing to the club and wouldn’t cheapen anything that they achieve through their own performances.
And former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness insists that there will be only limited information available after Football Insider insisted there had been a new leak as the public found out the location of the hearing.
: The secret location was leaked, there were photographs of the lawyers going in.
The lead lawyer, David Pannick, is reportedly on £5000 per hour. But we’re not going to be hearing much.
They have been very clear about that. The chairman of the commission will only disclose things he wants to be disclosed, and there’ll be no further reporting.
Of course in football, we’re all looking for leaks, and if there are no leaks then people will be making up leaks. We’re going to have to be very careful with the information coming out.
There’s been a very big debate about whether this case should be public and the case for more transparency.
I do believe it should be transparent because it would add to the penalty. If a club realised it would be dragged through the mud publicly, that might be another way to stop the behaviour we’re trying to fight against.
