Man City 115 charges: Premier League sets October 2 appeal deadline

By Adegboyega Adeleye

The Premier League has formally confirmed the independent Commission’s decision finding Manchester City guilty of serious breaches of its financial rules and given the club until Friday, October 2, to appeal the findings.

The League announced the development on Tuesday, saying the independent Commission found City guilty of all charges relating to serious financial breaches over the nine-season period from 2009/10 to 2017/18.

The Commission also found City guilty of the majority of charges relating to the club’s failure to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation, with three of the four alleged breaches upheld.

According to the Premier League, City arranged “sham” contracts with several commercial partners and relied on other “sham” agreements to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs.

The Commission found that the schemes artificially inflated City’s revenues and reduced its costs by more than £900 million during the affected period, resulting in misstated accounts and the concealment of the club’s finances from auditors and football regulators.

It also found that City was significantly in breach of both Premier League and UEFA spending limits during the period.

The Premier League said the Commission concluded that City had “made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the PL investigation” during the four-year investigation.

However, the issue of sanctions has not yet been decided.

The Premier League said the sanction will be addressed separately at a further hearing before the independent Commission. The hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted.

City have the right to appeal the Commission’s findings and must exercise that right by Friday, October 2.

The League said the independent Commission’s findings have been published in a redacted Core Decision after the Commission ruled, and an Appeal Board confirmed, that its decision was a “final award.”

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the decision established the facts of what happened at Manchester City during the period and described the case and decision as the most significant in Premier League history.

“This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history,” Masters said.

“There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches.”

The Premier League said its Board intends for the full process, including any appeals and publication of relevant decisions, to be concluded as soon as possible.