After a four-year investigation, the Premier League has charged Manchester City with more than 100 breaches of its financial rules.
The materials were sent to an independent commission regarding alleged violations of the rules between 2009 and 2018.
In addition, City is accused of not cooperating since the investigation began in December 2018.
In turn, City said they were “surprised” by the allegations and supported by “a body of irrefutable evidence.”
The commission can impose penalties ranging from a fine and points deduction to expulsion from the Premier League.
“Manchester City is surprised by the publication of these alleged breaches of Premier League rules, particularly given the extensive interaction and extensive amount of detailed material that has been provided to the Premier League,” the club said in a statement.
“The club welcomes this matter to be examined by an independent panel to impartially consider the comprehensive body of incontrovertible evidence that exists to support its position.
“As such, we look forward to seeing this matter put to rest once and for all.”
City won their sixth Premier League title last season since taking over Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008.
What was City accused of?
The Premier League said in a statement that City had breached rules requiring them to provide “accurate financial information which gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”.
This information covered the club’s income, which includes sponsorship income and operating expenses.
Further alleged breaches relate to rules requiring full disclosure of manager remuneration – from the 2009-10 to 2012-13 seasons, when Roberto Mancini was in charge – and player remuneration between 2010-11 and 2015-16.
The Premier League said City had breached rules relating to UEFA rules, including Financial Fair Play (FFP) from 2013-14 to 2017-18 and the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules from 2015 -16 to 2017-18.
In 2020, European football’s governing body UEFA ruled that City had committed “serious breaches” of FFP rules between 2012 and 2016.
However, the two-year ban from European competition was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later that year.
UEFA launched an investigation into City after German newspaper Der Spiegel published leaked documents in November 2018 which claimed the club had inflated the value of a sponsorship deal.
Chaired by Murray Rosen KC, the panel’s meetings will be confidential and will be held in camera.
When the Premier League’s investigation began, City said the allegations were “completely false” and that the allegations in Der Spiegel stemmed from the “illegal hacking and publication of City’s emails out of context”.
“It will be expensive and take a long time” – analysis
City were not given advance notice of the Premier League’s announcement. They were called at the same time as the statement was published.
They also note the timing of the statement, given that the White Paper on Football Governance is about to be published. It is believed that the filing of the case is likely to be used by the Premier League as evidence that they are capable of handling governance issues on their own.
City are confident of their position, and that applies to the allegations, which are time-barred in the UEFA case. It is known that the club provided the Premier League with relevant evidence regarding these allegations some time ago.
Given that it has taken the Premier League four years to get to this point, don’t expect this to be resolved anytime soon.
Manchester City has always denied financial wrongdoing. They have always said that the details published by Der Spiegel when it was passed on by Football Leaks were incomplete.
When UEFA brought their case, City said they did not believe the investigation and, when it went against them, they went straight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where they were cleared of what they said were “substantial charges”.
They will be armed with the best lawyers who will handle every element of the Premier League case.
The allegations include five years of allegations that the city did not help with their investigation — and that’s it.
All this will be expensive and will take time.
City manager Pep Guardiola has always said his employers assured them they had done nothing wrong. Others – La Liga president Javier Tebas is one of the loudest voices – passionately argue the opposite.
If City win, legally, they will be in the clear, even if the sniping continues.
If they lose, all sorts of penalties can be imposed. In this sense, the scope of the Premier League is completely open, and we are in uncharted territory.
We now begin a very long end game. The reputation of the city – and the reputation of those who own it – is at stake. The result, whatever it is, will be exciting.
