Manchester City found guilty of majority of 115 Premier League financial charges

Manchester City have been found guilty of the majority of 115 charges brought by the Premier League for breaches of its financial rules, with the independent commission publishing its findings on Tuesday after reports of a verdict first emerged the previous Friday.

The commission ruled that City committed serious financial rule breaches across a nine-season period between 2009 and 2018 — a span during which the club won eight trophies. Among the most significant findings, the commission determined that City arranged ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of sponsors, in which those companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees as part of what it described as a disguised funding scheme. City were also found guilty of the majority of charges relating to a failure to co-operate with the league’s investigation.

The club responded with a defiant statement, insisting it was innocent and vowing to pursue every available avenue of appeal. “Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission,” the statement read. “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.”

City added that the commission’s opinion “contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe,” and said it would be “relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.”

Sanctions have not yet been determined. City have until Friday 2 October to formally lodge an appeal against the commission’s findings, meaning the case — which has already spanned four years of investigation — is set to continue for some time yet.

The Premier League’s own statement confirmed the scope of the ruling: “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 9-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.”

City noted in their statement that they had “diligently respected due process for eight years” on the expectation that the Premier League would act as an independent and impartial regulator, and said they were restricted in further public comment until all proceedings are complete.