Lawyer who defeated Man City gives his take on 115 charges relegation

Nick de Marco KC, a prominent sports lawyer, has already said that Manchester City should avoid relegation even if they are found guilty amidst the 115 financial charges facing them.

De Marco, aged 57, is known for having represented former City defender Benjamin Mendy. That came in a successful £11million claim for unpaid wages against the club earlier this month.

Mendy had dragged City to an employment tribunal in Manchester over allegations of his £500,000-a-month salary being improperly suspended after he was charged and remanded for sex offences in August 2021, from which he was acquitted. While De Marco triumphed over City representing Mendy, his stance on the club's current Financial Fair Play (FFP) troubles is clear.

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De Marco, with chambers at Blackstone, believes vital aspects like promotion and relegation should be settled on the football field rather than by off-pitch hearings. "In my view, things as important as promotion and relegation should be determined on the pitch," De Marco said in The Times.

"It spoils the game for it to be determined by people like me; lawyers, accountants and ex-lawyers, who are arbitrators, hearing legal arguments behind closed doors. I'm going to make my money out of it, that's my business. But I don't necessarily think it's right."

Another potential punishment, a points deduction, which have been faced by Everton and Nottingham Forest previously, was also shut down by De Marco. "As a football fan, I really do think points deductions should be the very last thing people look at for breaches,” he continued.

"Yet it's