The Man City hearing must answer these two questions

Amid all of the uncertainty around the Manchester City investigation, there is one view that can be stated with confidence as it finally gets under way.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

That is that the case will continue as it started, with minimal information coming into the public domain. There are only a handful of people on the planet who actually know how it has gone so far, and that will remain the case given that the three-person independent commission will hear the charges in private. Questions can already be asked about what this says about transparency in football regulation. City insist upon their innocence.

There is nevertheless one detail that more informed executives are repeatedly raising around the case, that could prove absolutely integral to its outcome. That is the name “Jaber Mohamed”, which first came to light in last year’s YouTube documentary Britain’s Biggest Football Scandal? In the initial Uefa disciplinary hearing from an investigation into the Football Leaks emails, City’s own lawyer stated that “Jaber Mohamed” was “a person in the business of providing financial and brokering services to commercial entities” in the United Arab Emirates. On the club’s own admission, Abu Dhabi United Group [ADUG] - the name of the company that Sheikh Mansour had used to buy the club - “caused” for £30m to be paid by Mohamed on behalf of main sponsor Etisalat over 2012 and 2013. The telecom company didn’t actually pay for anything until 2015.