I read something decent about this the other day, but can't remember where—sorry. The main points are roughly:
- it's a regulatory thing and not a "real court case", so very little has to be made public—it's all ongoing behind closed doors
- City are delaying with every trick in the book, for instance they appealed because the main guy investigating is a gooner …
- legal standards of proof don't apply: a panel decides on what seems to be true and applies sanctions
The Everton result looks okay to me. A modest outcome to create a deterrent. The points deduction isn't that huge but opens the door for a protracted legal shitfight with up to four other clubs.
When you think about what might discourage City and Chelsea—something like deducting their dodgy spending from their allowed spending in future seasons, banning certain sponsors, extended transfer bans and points deductions, and officially "asterisking" honours achieved. Sounds unlikely.
