Crime & justice

Man City Found Guilty of Premier League Financial Breaches

Did nine years of cooked books earn serious punishment or is this a rigged trial?

Published SEP 30

Man City Found Guilty of Premier League Financial Breaches

Story

Above: A corner flag at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, U.K., on Sept. 20. Image credit: Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Facts

The Premier League confirmed Tuesday that an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of all charges tied to serious breaches of the association's financial rules across nine seasons, along with the majority of charges relating to failing to cooperate with the league's investigation.
Premierleague
Sky Sports
The commission found that between 2009-10 and 2017-18 the club arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners and relied on "sham" agreements with others, artificially inflating revenues and reducing costs as part of a disguised funding scheme.
GB News
BBC News
City reportedly declared £949.94 million in commercial income from Abu Dhabi sponsors between 2009 and 2018, but only £119.25 million was paid by the sponsors themselves. The remaining £830.69 million came from owner Abu Dhabi United Group.
Mark Ogden on X
ESPN
Three of four alleged breaches of the duty to cooperate were upheld, with the commission concluding the club had made "concerted efforts to stop and frustrate" an investigation that began in December 2018. A complaint was issued in February 2023.
Sky Sports
Premierleague
Manchester City said Tuesday it was "disappointed and surprised" by the ruling and would pursue appeal avenues, arguing the opinion contains material errors of law, principle and fact. The club has until Friday to lodge an appeal.
Manchester City
Express.co.uk
Sanctions will be determined at a separate hearing with the independent commission, with options including fines, points deductions, transfer bans and expulsion. Chief executive Ferran Soriano described the case in a video to staff as a "conspiracy theory."
ESPN
Sky Sports

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Nine years of cooked books and fake sponsorships turned a league into a stage show, and it's hard to see City coming back from a verdict this damning. Rules everyone else lived under were treated as optional by a club with a state-sized wallet, while rivals paid in lost revenue and seasons. Anything short of relegation, stripped titles and a points-and-pounds punishment makes the rulebook worthless.

Mark Ogden on X

ESPN

Piers Morgan on X

Narrative B

A regulator that investigates, charges and judges its own case is hardly the neutral arbiter fairness demands. Eight years of cooperation deserved better than a ruling riddled with errors of law, principle and fact, handed down before the process is even finished. Guilt isn't established until every appeal has run its course, and the evidence supporting innocence remains unanswered.

Manchester City