Manchester City executives were left stunned as Premier League legal papers were served at 10.15am today announcing charges over alleged financial rule breaches which could lead to a points deduction or expulsion from the top flight.
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 the 2017-18 season and will 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 or even an expulsion – though it could take years to come to a conclusion.
Manchester City have been charged by the Premier League over breaches of financial rules
City are accused of breaching financial rules more than 100 times in nine seasons (Sheikh Mansour pictured speaking with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak)
It is understood that papers were served on City at the same time the Premier League announced the charges.
An executive-level phone call from the competition to the club also took place but no prior warning was given to the club.
In a statement, Manchester City said it was surprised by the alleged breaches.
It read: ‘Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with.
‘The Club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent Commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.
‘As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.’
City declined to comment beyond their statement. It is understood, however, that there is a view within the club that the timing of the charges do not come as a coincidence.
Tomorrow the Government was due to publish a White Paper on the independent regulator for football but that date has been pushed back to February 20 at the earliest.
The belief is that the charges may have sent a powerful message to Downing Street, ahead of publication, that the Premier League is more than capable of governing itself.
Officials at the Etihad are also understood to be surprised at the lack of warning they received before the Premier League made the statement public.
There is considerable confidence within the City camp that they will be able to defend themselves. The fact that the charges cannot be time-barred – something which featured in their appeal against UEFA – is even being seen as a positive with some feeling that being able to defend the charges in full represents an opportunity.
If found guilty, Man City (Erling Haaland pictured) could face a points deduction or expulsion
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.’
City have vehemently denied any breaches of financial rules but the investigation started in December 2018 after German website Der Spiegel published documents from a Football Leaks cache which had originated from Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto.
It alleged that City had overstated sponsorship income with money paid from the club’s owners instead of sponsors linked to Abu Dhabi.
Roberto Mancini’s wages were said to have doubled via a secret contract with an Abu Dhabi club when he was at Man City, while they were also alleged to have broken rules over approaching young players.
The Mail on Sunday has led the way on reporting the story. In July 2021, they reported on emails that appeared to suggest that Man City had millions funnelled into the club by Abu Dhabi to help inflate their income.
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 Premier League’s charges against Man City come three years after the CAS lifted a two-year Champions League ban against the club and reduced a £25m fine down 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.’
Premier League rules though state there there is no similar restriction on the length of time since an alleged offence took place.
An arbitration tribunal ordered City to provide ‘certain documents and information to the Premier League and to make enquiries of third parties’ two years after the Premier League’s investigation started.
Man City clinched three Premier League titles during the nine seasons where the alleged are said to have took place, including 2012 when Sergio Aguero scored to give them the title
In July 2021 a Court of Appeal decision revealed that City challenged the panel set up by the Premier League and had unsuccessfully challenged demands to hand over documents and information.
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.
The statement from the Premier League added: ‘The proceedings before the Commission will, in accordance with Premier League Rule W.82, be confidential and heard in private. Under Premier League Rule W.82.2, the Commission’s final award will be published on the Premier League’s website.
‘This confirmation is made in accordance with Premier League Rule W.82.1. The Premier League will be making no further comment in respect of this matter until further notic
source:dailymail
