Man City's Appeal Deadline Is TODAY — And The PM, The Taxman And Even Etihad Have Joined The Chaos

Stop scrolling, because the Man City saga has officially left the football pages and crashed into Downing Street, the tax office AND an airline's legal department. Yes, really.

The club has until today (Friday) to lodge its appeal after an independent commission found them guilty of most of the 115 charges they faced. Here's where things stand.

The Tea ☕

• City were found guilty over breaches of Premier League financial rules, and have until Friday to appeal, per BBC News.
• PM Andy Burnham's comments about the club's owners caused a political backlash, and No 10 had to clarify them.
• MPs, HMRC, Etihad and even City's own players' contracts are now part of the conversation.

The Verdict (Quick Refresher)

The commission found City arranged "sham contracts" with commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than £830m, BBC News reports. The Premier League says the club "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade."

City deny any wrongdoing. They've said the decision contained "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact," according to BBC Sport.

A separate sanctions hearing will decide the punishment, which could include a huge fine or a points deduction, and it could take months to convene.

Enter The Prime Minister

Here's where it gets spicy. In a BBC interview, Burnham said he'd be "really concerned" to lose City's owners if they decided to sell. He also said it would be wrong to "jump to a conclusion" because the case is contested by the club.

The Tories called his remarks "completely out of touch" and "extraordinary," and a former City chairman, David Bernstein, said politicians should be "staying well away" from it.

Cue a very quick clarification from Downing Street: nobody is "above the rules," and wherever wrongdoing is established, those responsible should face the appropriate consequences.

City's Big Appeal Plan

According to BBC Sport, sources say City will argue that key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government, not the club's owners. Premier League rules allow state-owned bodies to sponsor clubs.

There's a catch. The commission already looked at a version of that argument and called it "untrue," saying it was an explanation "concocted well after the event." Ouch.

And Then It Got Bigger

• The taxman: The Treasury Committee chair has written to HMRC asking for reassurance it's looking at the case's tax implications. A Tax Policy Associates report claims City could owe up to £12m in unpaid tax over a "sham" contract with a former manager, per BBC Sport. That's a claim from the report, not a finding.
• Etihad: The club's principal sponsor says it's considering legal action against the Premier League and "categorically rejects" any suggestion it was involved in improper arrangements. It wasn't named in the redacted findings.
• The players: The Daily Mirror reports, via Sky Sports' Paper Talk, that a barrister says City players could be entitled to rip up their contracts. The same roundup says rival clubs may join forces on a class action. Both are press reports, not confirmed moves.

Will Rivals Actually Vote To Expel Them?

Don't hold your breath. Sky's Rob Dorsett reports that two senior Premier League executives would be "amazed" if 15 clubs voted to expel City. Meanwhile, other club chiefs have told BBC Sport the punishment should land before the end of this season.

Pep Guardiola, for what it's worth, says he'll "always" be behind the club.

So what happens next? The appeal lands today, the sanctions hearing is still to come, and the politics are only getting messier.

Is a points deduction enough, or should the punishment go much further? Sound off below.

Sources: BBC News | BBC Sport | Sky Sports