The Premier League has referred Manchester City to an independent commission over more than 100 alleged breaches of finance rules since the club was acquired by the Abu Dhabi-based City Football Group. The Manchester club may face Premier League points deduction if charges proved.
League rules state that charges such as those faced by City could, if proved, result in a club being expelled from the Premier League in the worst-case scenario.
Offending clubs may alternately be deducted points, fined, or reprimanded.
City’s alleged breaches stretch from the 2009-10 season to the 2017-18 campaign, the league said on Monday.
The club, who were acquired by City Football Group in 2008, are also charged with failing to cooperate with and assist the Premier League in its investigation, which was launched in December 2018.
City are alleged to have breached rules relating to the provision of accurate financial information, “in particular with respect to its revenue (including sponsorship revenue), its related parties and its operating costs,” the league said.
The club, who have won the Premier League title six times since the Abu Dhabi takeover, said they were surprised by the league’s “issuing of these alleged breaches”.
“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,” City added.
The charges stem from a Premier League investigation into City’s financial dealings launched four years ago, after the release of a tranche of “Football Leaks” documents obtained by the German publication Der Spiegel and reviewed by Reuters.
SUBSEQUENT BAN
City was subsequently banned from the Champions League by European governing body UEFA for two years, but successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which overturned the ban in 2020.
The club was fined 30 million euros ($32.28 million) by UEFA, which CAS reduced to 10 million euros.
In addition to the charges relating to the club’s revenue and operating costs, City are also alleged to have not fully disclosed managerial remuneration from the 2009-10 to 2012-13 seasons, 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 (FFP) 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.
