It’s official! The Premier League has confirmed that an independent commission has found City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of its financial rules over a nine-season period.
The announcement, published on Tuesday, ends several days of uncertainty after reports of the commission’s findings first emerged on Friday. City have responded by maintaining their innocence and confirming that they will appeal.
The Premier League’s official statement says the breaches covered the period between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons. It also confirmed that three of four charges concerning City’s failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation were upheld.
Premier League publishes Manchester City findings
The commission found that City arranged what it described as “sham” contracts with a number of commercial partners, while relying on other agreements that misrepresented the true arrangements between the parties.
According to the findings, those arrangements allowed City to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than £900m over the nine-season period.
The commission also found that City filed misstated accounts, concealed the true state of their finances from auditors and football regulators and would have substantially breached Premier League and UEFA spending limits had the relevant agreements been recorded accurately.
It concluded that the club had intended to circumvent Premier League rules. The findings go further on City’s conduct during the investigation, which began in December 2018. The commission concluded that the club had made “concerted efforts to stop and frustrate” that investigation.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the case and decision as the most significant in the competition’s history.
The redacted core decision has now been published after the commission ruled, and an Appeal Board confirmed, that it constitutes a “final award”. That doesn’t mean the entire process is over.
Manchester City confirm appeal
The sanction will be decided at a separate hearing before the independent commission. No points deduction, fine or other sporting punishment has yet been imposed.
Premier League rules give the commission broad discretion over sanctions, with the possible measures including fines, points deductions and other sporting penalties. The League says it intends to move through the remaining process as quickly as possible.
City have until Friday 2 October to lodge an appeal against the commission’s findings. The club wasted little time in confirming that it intends to do so.
In its official response, City said they were “disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s opinion and repeated their insistence that they are innocent of the accusations.
The club said a comprehensive body of evidence supports its position and claimed the commission’s opinion contains “clear material errors” of law, principle and fact.
City added that they will pursue the appeal avenues available to them and, where necessary, take action in other regulatory and legal forums.
The tone is consistent with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s message to supporters after the first reports emerged on Friday, when he insisted City’s confidence in proving their innocence remained unchanged.
There is therefore still a considerable legal process ahead. What changed on Tuesday is the status of the central story. For four days, the guilty findings were based on media reports and sources familiar with a confidential process.
Not any more.
The Premier League has now formally confirmed the commission’s findings, City have formally rejected them, and the next phase of English football’s biggest disciplinary case will centre on two issues: the club’s appeal and the sanction that could follow.
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