'Man City has impunity' - La Liga chief blasts Premier League over 115 FFP charges case

La Liga's president, Tebas, has criticised the length of time that it has taken for City to feel any repercussions from their 115 charges, with the Premier League's investigation still ongoing. 

Tebas told the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London: "I understand that it’s a failure (of governance) – this happened with Manchester City and other clubs are looking and watching and listening.

"(Other clubs are) being fined, having points deducted, and that’s fine if you don’t abide by the rules. But Manchester City has impunity.

“I speak to a lot of Premier League clubs, and the majority don’t understand this either. That makes the institution weaker."

He added: "It’s not just the delay, it’s the general situation. When a great institution like the Premier League, when you have to have rules for financial fair play, you need to have a lot of legal certainty in the competition and among clubs.

“Citizens have to think that the system is fair to all, that it’s not arbitrary, that it’s objective. When you have this type of situation, you’re generating uncertainty and that’s damaging for an institution’s image."

City have consistently maintained their innocence, and insist they have a "comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" that will clear their name. 

Tebas, though, said: "You just can’t give in, because the value of legal certainty is more important. We can’t be arbitrary, we have to be firm."

The Premier League's chief executive, perhaps in a rebuke to the Spaniard, insisted he cannot give any more information. 

He added: "I can’t talk about it, I can’t talk about the timing of it.

"I simply can’t comment. Having spent three years not commenting, I’m not going to start now. Stepping aside from that (specific case), any regulator wants its judicial system to be efficient and work swiftly. That’s about as far as I can go."

It has been speculated that City could face a mighty points deduction if they are found guilty.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has told The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet: “We have got well over 115 charges so what happens if it is 70-50 in terms of favour to the Premier League or favour of Manchester City? If Manchester City are found guilty of non-cooperation, which is fairly likely, they are likely to get a significant fine because that is what we saw happen with UEFA and the deductions there. If it’s a points deduction, I think the Premier League will claim it as a victory.”

It was claimed at one stage that City could be expelled from the Premier League. Maguire has reiterated why that cannot happen, but the Blues could be stung with a hefty points penalty that sends them tumbling down the top-flight table. There may also be sweeping changes at boardroom level.

Maguire went on to say: “The Premier League cannot relegate Manchester City to League One or League Two because that is an EFL decision and Manchester City have not had any charges proven against them by the EFL. Therefore, it has to be a points deduction. 

“If we take a look at precedence, we have had Everton and Nottingham Forest with six and four-point deductions for a single offence covering a three-year period. The accusations against Manchester City cover a nine-year period, so it is far bigger. 

“The numbers involved we are not certain about but they are likely to be quite significant. I think you have to add a zero to what we’ve seen in terms of Forest and Everton, so somewhere between a 40 and 60-point deduction would be, on merit to be consistent with what we’ve seen with other decisions, would make a lot of logic."

City face Leeds United away from home in their next fixture. They are currently five points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.