Geez, you hold the PL in really high regard, don’t you?
Plenty will stick of course, but it won’t lead to the fines you’re obviously hoping for. Probably money fines, and that will be it. You don’t kill the hen which lays golden eggs for you.
As @rupzzz noted, the PL have already avoided the Bayern situation by letting other similar owners in: Saudi Arabia, and next on the line, Qatar. And LFC have been so kind to provide competition without the gazillions in the last years, so all is fine in their small petty world.
Only the political world could apply some real pressure on them. But we both know how that will pan out, eh?
So long as, in Arsenal’s case, that voice is coming from the off-field team. Sadly, Arteta is still in City’s pocket in regards to defending what City have become.
It’s probably like Kompany’s comments and wanting to defend their own legacy over everything else.
We’ll have to see, but let’s have it right. If UEFA hadn’t inserted a five year timebarring into their own rules, they would have nailed City. They clearly wanted to and tried really hard. In the end, they weren’t quite clever enough and were tripped up by a loophole in their own regulations.
This is absolutely not about the will to act. If UEFA or the PL were were happy to let City crack on, they would have just…erm…let them crack on.
The act of imposing the charges against City (fuckloads of them) seriously implies that the authorities within the game are very unhappy with City and want them punished.
If City get away with it again, it won’t be because the PL let them, or they are secretly happy with their artificial sponsorships, dodgy payments and so on. It will be because City have found another way to frustrate the process.
I’m sick of the cynicism about this. Man City are owned by an aggressive, lawyered up, nation state used to behaving as they please. Holding them to account is really hard. The games custodians are clearly trying, but it takes time and a lot of energy.
I do wonder what UEFA will be like if City make the CL final and win it. Do they throw the cup at them and walk off or celebrate and give themselves another nice pat on the back for delivering the competition?
I don’t get this at all. Why would the Premier League be happy that City are winning every season. As it is owned and operated by the member clubs, wouldn’t they prefer to have different teams competing and winning? How does City winning it every year help the EPL profit more than say Chelsea, United or LFC winning it with our international fanbases. Sounds like a lazy or just frustrated comment which is not like you.
And yet, while they were writing their charges, they simultaneously let the Saudis in, of whom they know will do the exact same thing? How does this add up?
In my book, the PL was encouraged by the government to release these charges, just so people could see that ‘something is done’. But I can’t see any real willingness to act, neither within the PL (too much money to lose) nor within the government, who are corrupted as fuck themselves. Why would they want to really punish corrupt people, when they let them in in the first place?
I hope that I’m wrong of course. It would be sweet to see these fuckers stripped of their titles and relegated. But let’s not fool ourselves, eh? This is nothing more than a pipedream.
Their answer for that specific problem is the Saudis. Another golden hen. And next on the list, Qatar.
Problem solved, and let the petro-dollars continue raining in. Yeah baby!
(Edit; I am frustrated indeed, because I’ve come to realize that these corrupt fuckers have destroyed the spirit of the game I love. I absolutely hate this situation to be fair.)
On what basis do they dictate to Newcastle that they not allowed to be owed by Saudi Arabia? I don’t think there is anything in the rules that would allow them to block that purchase. And you are correct that the Government leant heavily on them to waive it through.
The fit and proper person test sets a very low bar for ownership. As soon as Saudi Arabia or UAE say they will play by the rules, I don’t think the Premier League can block it. Human Rights issues are not part of the framework.
Two reasons, both with the same purpose. One, either to hold them to account; or two, to appear to try very hard to hold them to account.
The purpose is to stop the government appointing an independent body to oversee and regulate the Premier League.
It is in the Premier League’s interest to run its own affairs, so to stave off government intervention, they at least need to look as though they are trying to run a tight ship.
On a slightly different note, I share your exasperation with the cynicism around Man City. I veer back and forth on that one.
On the one hand, I hope that plenty of the charges stick, and that the punishment is meaningful. Not fines. But titles stripped, relegation, points docked, transfers banned. Meaningful sporting punishments of that magnitude need to be meted out, and I have some hope for it, but not a lot, Im afraid.
And that’s where the cynicism comes in. We know they have been at it before. We know they beat the rap before on a technicality. We know they are lawyered up, and will do whatever they can to delay and defeat the charges. They have form for it.
It’s probably a bad analogy, but to me it is like watching Trump do his thing over here. I look at it, and I wonder how the hell he’s not in jail. He is guilty as you like, in so many ways, but his actual expertise, from a lifetime of practice, is in ducking and diving his way through the legal process and keeping the chasing pack just out of arms reach from landing a true knockout blow.
To date, that’s what I’ve seen from Man City, legally speaking.