Premier League rules on Manchester City: 'Guilty of all charges'
The English team said it will appeal because "the ruling contains obvious factual errors." It now faces relegation.
Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City. File photo
The Premier League, the top tier of British soccer and the most-watched league in the world, officially found Manchester City guilty on virtually all charges brought against the club for financial irregularities spanning nine seasons. The club is also accused of failing to cooperate with the investigation.
On Tuesday, a few days after the news was leaked, the independent commission that had been investigating Manchester City for about four years revealed that the English team, winner of the UEFA Champions League in the 2022–2023 season, is guilty of the vast majority of the charges brought against it. Specifically, 114 of the 115 charges for which it was investigated.
"An independent Commission has found Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation," the Premier League reported in a statement.
The violations
- "Manchester City arranged ‘sham’ contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on ‘sham’ agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs."
- "The club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators."
- "Manchester City was significantly in breach of both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits."
- "During the Premier League’s investigation, Manchester City committed multiple breaches of its duties of co-operation and utmost good faith towards the League (three of the four alleged breaches were upheld)."
Furthermore, the Premier League stated that Manchester City's objective was "to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than £900 million during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules."
Manchester City responds
The club's response was swift. In a statement, Manchester City expressed its disappointment with the ruling, maintaining its innocence and stating that it will appeal to any judicial authority.
"The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums," it stated. "Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe."
What penalties does Manchester City face?
While it remains to be seen whether the appeal will be accepted—the club has until October 2 to file it—if the appeal is unsuccessful, Manchester City faces sanctions ranging from financial fines to relegation.
The latter would be the maximum penalty for a team that has grown rapidly in recent seasons, to the point of going from being just another team in the Premier League to one of the best in European soccer. Relegation to the EFL Championship—the second tier of English soccer—or to lower divisions would tarnish the reputation of the Citizens, which would likely, as a result, cause their star players—such as the Norwegian Erling Haaland—to jump ship.
Another possibility is the aforementioned financial fine, which, although it could seriously affect the club's finances, would be the least severe penalty given Manchester City's financial might, as the club is funded with billions of dollars season after season by the royal family of the United Arab Emirates. It could also face a deduction of points in the standings, which could result in the club being barred from continental competitions next season.
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