‘Simply scintillating’ – De Bruyne’s Top 10 Premier League assists for Man City
Video credit: TNT Sports
The Premier League announced on Thursday that Manchester City have been fined £1.08 million due to breaking kick-off and restart rules.
Last year, City were [ordered to pay £2.09m](https://www.tntsports.co.uk/football/premier-league/2024-2025/premier-league-fine-manchester-city-delayed-kick-off_sto20023601/story.shtml) due to breaching the same rule on 22 occasions. The club said at the time it had "reminded" players and staff of their "responsibilities in complying with Rule L.33".
The sanction agreement details the individual fines issued to the club and the length of delay to either the kick-off or restart.
City were adjudged to have breached the rule for their home fixtures against Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, West Ham United and Newcastle United, while they were also sanctioned for breaches during away matches at Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Ipswich Town.
The first breach - committed during City's 1-0 victory over Southampton in October - landed the club a £40,000 fine.
Pep Guardiola's side entered the field for the second-half two minutes and 10 seconds late following the interval, after Erling Haaland's fifth-minute goal had sent them into the break with a 1-0 lead. From there, fines were incrementally increased by £20,000 until the fifth breach, when sanctions rose further.
City were found to have breached the rule twice during the Manchester derby in December, both for delaying the kick-off and the restart.
The sanction agreement said the start of the match was delayed by one minute and 18 seconds, while the restart was two minutes and 24 seconds late - the longest individual delay of the campaign. City were fined £125,000 for the two breaches.
Guardiola's side led Manchester United until the 88th minute, when two goals in two minutes courtesy of Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo saw Ruben Amorim's side secure a remarkable comeback victory.
The heftiest fine dealt to City was £210,000 for the two minute, 22-second delay to the restart in their 6-0 away victory against Ipswich Town in January.
"Rules relating to kick-offs and re-starts help ensure the organisation of the competition is set at the highest possible professional standard and provides certainty to fans and participating clubs," the Premier League said in a statement.
"It also ensures the broadcast of every Premier League match is kept to schedule."
Grealish has to 'have butterflies in his stomach' and 'will be back' for Man City - Guardiola
Video credit: SNTV
Nine breaches in full
---------------------
* v Southampton, October 26, 2 minute and 10 second delay to restart, £40,000 fine
* v Tottenham Hotspur, November 23, 1 min and 38 sec delay to kick-off, £60,000
* v Nottingham Forest, December 4, 1 min and 59 sec delay to restart, £80,000
* v Crystal Palace, December 7, 1 min and 29 sec delay to restart, £100,000
* v Manchester United, December 15, 3 min and 42 sec delay combined for kick-off and restart, £125,000
* v Aston Villa, December 21, 2 min and 9 sec delay to restart, £125,000
* v West Ham United, January 4, 1 min and 42 sec delay to restart, £150,000
* v Ipswich Town, January 19, 2 min and 22 sec delay to restart, £210,000
* v Newcastle United, February 15, 1 min and 42 sec delay to restart, £190,000
Stream the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and [discovery+](https://get.discoveryplus.com/gb/watch-tnt-sports-on-discoveryplus?utm_campaign=UK-TNT-D1-TNT-C7-TNT-BAU-DR-W-Football-Undefined-250101-NA&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tntsports.co.uk&utm_content=story-content-text-subscribe&vid=r0s2symy3v251sw8&cid=0ee1b05714eadfd3193bf34fbc4e5980&c=%7B%22875074%22%3A%220%22%2C%221086912%22%3A%220%22%2C%221310352%22%3A%221630781%22%7D)