Manchester City Found Guilty of All Serious Financial Breach Charges by Premier League

The Premier League has announced that Manchester City was found guilty of all serious charges relating to breaches of its financial regulations during a period spanning from the 2009/10 to the 2017/18 seasons. The league confirmed the verdict following an independent commission’s review of a four-year investigation that led to charges against the club in February 2023.

In a statement released Tuesday, the league detailed the commission’s findings, which concluded that Manchester City arranged “sham” contracts with various commercial partners to misrepresent the true nature of their agreements. The investigation further determined that the club utilized schemes to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than 900 million pounds over the affected period, actions taken to make the club appear compliant with financial rules.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the ruling as a significant moment for the sport. “The core decision … details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade,” Masters said. He added that while the finding of guilt is complete, the specific sanctions resulting from these breaches still need to be determined.

Manchester City has consistently denied any wrongdoing. In response to the verdict, the club issued a statement expressing disappointment and surprise at the commission’s opinion. The statement emphasized that the club maintains its innocence and argued that a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence supports its position.

“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,” the club said. The organization asserts that the accusations are unfounded and plans to challenge the decision through available legal channels.