Tebas Stands Firm for Nine Years: 114 Financial Violations Confirmed Against Man City, No Privileges in Football Economic Rules

La Liga president Javier Tebas recently voiced his position, regarding the ongoing judicial proceedings between Manchester City and the Premier League as a key signal: only by upholding uniform standards and eliminating special privileges can the football industry earn public trust and achieve long-term healthy development.

According to a source close to the matter, as reported by foreign media last Friday, the majority of financial violation charges in the litigation initiated by Manchester City against the Premier League are expected to be upheld. After learning of the news, Manchester City issued an official statement that did not deny the rulings, merely noting that the judicial proceedings "remain in progress." The Premier League adopted a cautious stance, declining to comment on the "private and confidential proceedings."

Earlier, foreign media outlets had already disclosed that an independent review committee had determined that all but one of the 115 financial violation charges against Manchester City were upheld.

Tracing back to 2020, Manchester City was banned for two seasons for breaching UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations, only to reverse the penalty through a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. At that time, Tebas publicly condemned the practice of "economic doping" in European football.

In this instance, Tebas penned a lengthy post on social media, re-citing remarks he had made in September 2017 when attending the Soccerex industry event in Manchester. He characterized the Court of Arbitration for Sport's ruling at the time as "a seriously flawed decision," pointing out that it had severely undermined the credibility of the European football economic control system, and once again reiterated that all clubs must adhere to the same regulatory baseline.

He emphasized in his post: "Economic sustainability is not the product of bureaucracy. Financial controls are not a passing whim. Advocating that clubs should fundamentally rely on resources they create themselves to compete is not targeting any particular club, but rather defending a model. In this model, competitive success does not depend on who has the most powerful financial backing behind them, but on who manages better, who creates more resources, who builds a better team, and who abides by the same rules as everyone else."

Tebas acknowledged that consistently holding this position has subjected him to considerable public pressure and practical difficulties. "But my thinking now is exactly the same as when I was in Manchester in 2017. Some principles are worth defending, even at a cost."

He added that nearly nine years have passed since that speech at Soccerex. According to reports published to date, the Premier League's independent committee has found that 114 of the 115 financial violation charges against Manchester City are upheld. "There is still a long way to go. The punishment has not been finalized, and the proceedings have not concluded. But everything that has already happened proves once again that economic controls, transparency, and equality before the rules are vital to safeguarding football's integrity and sustainable development. We will continue to defend these principles, just as we did in 2017."