September 28 – Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has said the club is confident of proving their innocence after they were found guilty of breaking the Premier League’s financial rules.
On Friday, news broke that City have been found guilty of 114 out of 115 charges, centering on claims that the club inflated sponsorship revenue, made off the books payments to get around financial regulations and failed to cooperate in the investigation. If upheld, the ruling could have major consequences for City, the Premier League and English club football.
On the club’s website, Al Mubarak responded with a letter: “Following Friday’s media reporting, many of you will have spent your evening answering questions and responding to messages from friends, family and colleagues. So have I.
“Here’s what I said to my family: The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began.
“There are so many things that I would like to be able to share with you to help you understand why we feel so confident in our position.
“But the strict confidentiality of the legal process and our determination to respect it means I cannot do that at the moment. Even this letter underwent several legal checks to make sure it complies.”
It’s understood City will appeal, but sanctions could include relegation, points deduction and a financial fine. The Premier League rulebook lay outs a strict time frame for an appeal, with an appellant party required to appeal within 14 days of a decision being announced.
The news came after an eight-year investigation shrouded in mystery. In February 2023, the club was charged more than 100 breaches of Premier League rules between 2009 and 2018. City’s Abu Dhabi owners took over in 2008 and set their sights on transforming the club into a domestic and continental superpower. The club won a slate of trophies, including the Champions League under Pep Guardiola.
A total of 54 of the charges were the failure to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 to 2017-18, 14 times the failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18, five times the failure to comply with Uefa’s rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) from 2013-14 to 2017-18, and seven times breaching Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
In 2014, European governing body UEFA found City in breach of FFP rules, resulting in a €20 million fine. Football Leaks prompted further reporting on City’s finances and a fresh UEFA investigation.
In 2020, UEFA suspended City from the Champions League for “overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts”. The suspension was subsequently overturned on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.