An independent commission finds Manchester City guilty of all charges relating to nine seasons of serious financial breaches.
An independent commission has found Manchester City (2.55) guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules.
The club now faces a separate hearing to determine sanctions, with an appeal deadline set for Friday, 2 October.
A Disguised Funding Scheme
The commission examined City’s conduct between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. It found the club arranged sham contracts with several commercial partners during that period. Those companies were only required to pay a portion of the recorded sponsorship fees.
The remainder came from Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development, the club’s owner. Further sham arrangements, also funded by ADUG, allowed City to record lower operating expenses.
A circular arrangement with an entity called Fordham similarly inflated the club’s declared image rights income. The commission concluded these schemes inflated revenue and reduced costs by more than £900 million.
Concealment And Non-Cooperation
The commission found City filed misstated accounts and concealed its true financial position from auditors and regulators.
“By its conduct the club clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules,” the commission concluded.
Had the agreements been reported accurately, City would have breached both Premier League and UEFA spending limits substantially. The commission also examined City’s conduct during the four-year investigation itself.
It upheld three of four charges relating to failures of cooperation and good faith. The panel concluded City had “made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate” the investigation. Some City witnesses reportedly gave evidence the commission found knowingly dishonest.
Masters Calls It The Most Significant Case In League History
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the verdict as historic: “This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history,” Masters said.
He said the ruling vindicated the League’s decision to pursue the case: “It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade,” he added.
Masters confirmed that sanctions remain undecided and will be decided in a separate, private hearing: “We are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process,” he said.
Possible sanctions range from fines and points deductions to expulsion from the league.
City Vows To Fight On
Manchester City (4.34) rejected the findings and confirmed plans to appeal.
“The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League,” the club said in a statement. It described the evidence supporting its case as irrefutable.
Chief executive Ferran Soriano went further in a video sent to staff and players. He called the case “a Premier League conspiracy theory” built on a single false accusation.
“The owner’s personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi. This is just not true,” Soriano opined.
City has until 2 October to lodge its formal appeal. Other Premier League clubs are reportedly seeking legal advice over potential compensation claims linked to the verdict.
British sports minister Lisa Nandy called the findings “incredibly stark” and urged a swift, fair resolution. The case now moves toward its next phase, with sanctions expected to dominate the coming months.
