Manchester City CHARGED by the Premier League with numerous breaches of financial rules

Man City are CHARGED with breaking the Premier League’s financial rules more than 100 TIMES over sponsors and contracts – and could face a points deduction or even EXPULSION

  • Man City have been charged by the Premier League over financial breaches  
  • It comes following a four-year investigation into sponsors and contracts
  • Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions could face a potential points deduction 

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Manchester City have been charged by the Premier League for breaching financial rules more than 100 times in the space of nine seasons.

The charges against the reigning champions relate to financial information regarding revenue, details of manager and player remuneration, UEFA regulations, profitability and sustainability and co-operation with Premier League investigations. 

A statement from the league said alleged breaches were committed from September 2009 to to the 2017-18 season and will now be referred to an independent commission 

It adds that the club is alleged to have breached league rules requiring provision ‘in utmost good faith’ of ‘accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position’.

Should Man City be found guilty, they face a range of potential sanctions including a points deduction and expulsion. The club have yet to comment but Sportsmail understands that they are prepared to ‘robustly’ defend themselves. 

Manchester City have been charged by the Premier League over breaches of financial rules

Manchester City have been charged by the Premier League over breaches of financial rules

It's said that there have been more than 100 charges over the space of nine seasons

It’s said that there have been more than 100 charges over the space of nine seasons 

Between the dates mentioned, Man City won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three Carabao Cups. 

The Premier League said in a statement: ‘In accordance with Premier League Rule W.82.1, the Premier League confirms that it has today referred a number of alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules by Manchester City Football Club to a Commission.’

The investigation started in December 2018 after the German investigative website Der Spiegel published documents from the Football Leaks cache which originated from the Portuguese computer hacker Rui Pinto.

It alleged that City had: overstated sponsorship income, with money being paid by the club’s Abu Dhabi owners instead of sponsors linked to the Gulf state; effectively doubled former manager Roberto Mancini’s wages via a secret contact with an Abu Dhabi club and broke rules over approaches to young players.

Back in February 2020, the club were banned from the Champions League and fined £25million after they were found to have seriously misled European footballing governing body UEFA and broken financial fair play rules.

This was then lifted by the court of arbitration for sport which also reduced the club’s fine to £9m.

The panel at the time said City had shown a ‘disregard’ for the principle that clubs must cooperate with a governing body’s investigations, and conducted an ‘obstruction of the investigations’.

However, on the central finding by the CFCB’s adjudicatory chamber that City’s Abu Dhabi ownership had disguised its own funding as independent sponsorship by the state’s commercial companies, the CAS found: ‘Most of the alleged breaches were either not established or time-barred.’

If found guilty, Man City (Erling Haaland pictured) could face a points deduction or expulsion

If found guilty, Man City (Erling Haaland pictured) could face a points deduction or expulsion

Under Premier League rules, there is no similar restriction on the length of time since an alleged offence.

Two years after the launch of the Premier League’s investigation, an arbitration tribunal ordered City to provide ‘certain documents and information to the Premier League and to make enquiries of third parties’, the Court of Appeal said.

In July 2021 a Court of Appeal decision revealed that City had challenged the jurisdiction of an arbitration panel set up by the Premier League and had, unsuccessfully, legally challenged demands to hand over documents and information.

One of the judges, Lord Justice Males, said in the ruling: ‘This is an investigation which commenced in December 2018. It is surprising, and a matter of legitimate public concern, that so little progress has been made after two and a half years — during which, it may be noted, the club has twice been crowned as Premier League champions.’

In March 2019, the Premier League first confirmed an investigation was under way after a number of top-flight clubs raised the issue of the allegations against City.

More to follow… 

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