Harris has spent more than five decades at the heart of football journalism, including 18 years as chief football writer of the Daily Mirror and eight years at the Daily Express. A five-time World Cup reporter, he has won 24 industry awards, including British Sports Journalist of the Year twice, and is the only journalist to have won the Sports Story of the Year award twice.
Now, in his 100th book, "The Black Book: Secrets from the Heart of Football", Harris revisits the contacts, confidences and behind-the-scenes dealings that helped shape some of football’s biggest headlines.
One of those stories concerns Tottenham Hotspur’s disciplinary battle with the Football Association in 1994. Harris, speaking to Football Presse as part of the promotion of his new book, "The Black Book", said the case remained relevant to Manchester City’s fight.
Harris told Football Presse, “And I think one of the major issues today, we're talking about the Manchester City case. And in the book, there is a case that's 30 years old but long forgotten. But of course, it is very much applicable to Manchester City because Lord Sugar, Alan Sugar, as he was at the time—”
The Tottenham precedent
Harris was close to the story through his relationship with Tottenham chairman Alan Sugar, who confided in him about what he believed had happened before he took over the club.
“He confided in me about some major breaches of the regulations when he took over the club, which I gleefully used some documents and examples of in the Mirror. Major headlines, major news at the time.
“But of course he felt aggrieved because he felt it was from the old regime who'd been acting fraudulently and corrupt.”
Harris advised Sugar to take the documents to the Football Association and explain that the material had come to light after his takeover. Tottenham were subsequently punished over financial irregularities associated with the club’s previous regime.
The initial sanctions were severe: a £600,000 fine, a 12-point league deduction and exclusion from the following season’s FA Cup. Tottenham appealed, with the points deduction reduced to six but the fine increased to £1.5 million. The FA Cup ban remained in place until a later arbitration overturned the sporting penalties, although the fine stood.
For Harris, the crucial part of the story is the legal challenge that followed.
The legal route Harris believes City should examine
“Alan Sugar had hired Herbert Smith, and then Herbert Smith had worked on my behalf on a number of cases. And there's no better legal firm in the world.
“I don't know which—I know the lawyers that Manchester City have, but these guys are the ones they should be going to, particularly as they have this case file.”
Harris recalled the threat of court action and the potential consequences for football’s governing structures.
“Spurs appealed, and with this threat of legal action in the courts, which would have dismantled all the football regulations, Graham Kelly, chief executive at the time, was frightened about the consequences.”
He believes a club facing severe sanctions should be prepared to challenge them through the courts, rather than assume that a punishment would necessarily be the final outcome.
“Whatever that might be, if there were sanctions, no matter how severe or how not severe, the immediate outcome would be Manchester City lawyers would serve an injunction on the Premier League. All the points deducted would be reinstated immediately by a judge pending a proper trial, and there would be a proper outcome in a trial.”
That is Harris’s view of what could happen, not a guarantee of a court ruling. Tottenham’s dispute and City’s case concern different proceedings, rules and evidence.
A really uneducated lynch mob
Harris is particularly critical of the public debate around Manchester City, arguing that speculation about points deductions and possible relegation has run ahead of a proper understanding of the legal questions.
“It's been a lynch mob, hasn't it, really? But a really uneducated lynch mob. Really, really shooting in the dark without a clue about the real legal intricacies which occurred 30 years ago with Alan Sugar.”
He also questions whether sanctions should be imposed before the appeal process has concluded, pointing to the complications that could arise if a punishment were later overturned.
“Quite clearly, the most recent comments have been, should they have the sanctions ahead of the appeal? I mean, who on earth would possibly suggest such a thing?”
Harris wants the evidence behind the case to be examined openly and the club’s defence to receive proper consideration.
“And I think actually, to be perfectly honest, I think we should all want a trial because so far all we've seen is the prosecution, the prosecution who have hired the jury and have paid the jury and are sitting in judgment.”
He added: “What we all want to hear, all the fans want to hear, not just Man City fans—we've heard what the prosecution's got to say for themselves. What we want to hear is irrefutable evidence in their defence. We want to see it. We want to see it laid bare.”
The case is not over
An independent commission has found Manchester City responsible for 114 of the 115 alleged breaches in the Premier League case. City has appealed the decision, maintains that it contains material errors and denies wrongdoing. The question of sanctions remains separate from the appeal against the findings.
Harris’s comparison with Tottenham is a historical argument about how a club can challenge football authorities, not proof that City will achieve the same outcome. His experience of the Spurs case, however, gives him a first-hand perspective on the importance he places on legal strategy.
For Harris, the central issue is that the debate should not be mistaken for a final verdict. He believes the legal process, the evidence and the defence must all be considered before the outcome is settled.
Harry Harris is author of "The Black Book: Secrets from the Heart of Football" from Legacy 11 Books - which is available here.
