Manchester City have been referred to an independent commission over more than 100 alleged breaches of Premier League finance rules.
The breaches stretch from the 2009-10 season to the 2017-18 campaign, the league said. City, the defending league champions, were acquired by their Abu Dhabi-based owners, City Football Group, in 2008.
The Premier League is probing potential rule breaches by Manchester City.Credit:AP
If the charges are proven City, could face a range of sanctions such as a points deduction, fines or even expulsion from the Premier League.
The league says the club breached rules relating to the provision of financial information, including relating to sponsorship revenue and operating costs.
The charges stem from a Premier League investigation into City’s financial dealings launched four years ago, months after the release of a tranche of confidential documents obtained and released by the German publication Der Spiegel.
The investigation includes issues relating to managerial pay during the period Roberto Mancini – now in charge of the Italian national team – was manager.Credit:AP
City were subsequently banned from the Champions League by the European governing body UEFA for two years, but successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which overturned the ban in 2020.
UEFA fined the club €30 million ($46.7 million), which was later reduced to €10 million by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
City are alleged by the Premier League to have not fully disclosed managerial remuneration in each of the seasons from 2009-10 to 2012-13, when Roberto Mancini was manager.
The club are also charged with failing to comply with Premier League’s rules requiring clubs to follow UEFA’s financial fair play regulations from the 2013-14 to 2017-18 seasons and failing to follow the Premier League’s rules on profit and sustainability from the 2015-16 to 2017-18 seasons.
The regulations are designed to stop clubs running up big losses by over-spending on players. They also ensure sponsorship deals are based on their real market value and are genuine commercial agreements rather than ways for owners to pump cash into a club and circumnavigate the rules.
City are also alleged to have failed to cooperate with and assist the Premier League in its investigations from December 2018.
“The members of the commission will be appointed by the independent chair of the Premier League Judicial Panel,” the Premier League said in a statement.
“The proceedings before the commission will … be confidential and heard in private.
“The Premier League will be making no further comment in respect of this matter until further notice.”
City did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Manchester City have been transformed into a football superpower in the decade since being bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.
Under the Abu Dhabi ownership, City have won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and six English League Cups, bringing the cloud out the shadows of neighbouring Manchester United.
It has been the most successful period in the club’s 143-year history.
Reuters
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
