Man City charges Everton fans have followed for years now carry a verdict. An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of more than 100 charges relating to financial rule breaches committed between 2009 and 2018. The case ends one of English football’s longest sagas.
City were cleared on one count, which concerned a lack of cooperation with the commission’s investigation. Every other charge was upheld. That spans a period in which the club won three Premier League titles under three different managers.
Those nine seasons shaped the division Everton were competing in too. Blues supporters do not need reminding how close some of those campaigns felt at the time.
The findings do not rewrite any results on the pitch, but they do add fresh context to some of the biggest moments Everton lived through during that period.
Re-examining the 2013/14 Top Four Hunt and 2016 Cup Agony
The 2013/14 season sits among the more painful near misses in Everton’s recent history. Roberto Martinez’s side pushed hard for a top four finish. They fell short, finishing fifth. Manchester City won the title that season, with Liverpool finishing second after their own dramatic title charge.
City’s proven breaches date back to 2009, which means the resources behind that title win sit inside the period covered by the guilty verdict. Everton fans who remember the final weeks of that campaign, willing their side over the line, now have reason to view the context differently.
Two years later, City caused more pain. Everton met them in the League Cup semi final during the 2015/16 season and lost 4-3 on aggregate, a tie decided by fine margins across two legs. City went on to beat Liverpool in the final at Wembley, adding another trophy from the period now under scrutiny.
Neither result can be rewritten by the commission’s findings. Both now sit inside a wider story about how City built the squads that beat Everton to silverware and league position during those years.
Over 100 Charges Proven: Breakdown of City’s Financial Breaches
The scale of the ruling is striking. More than 100 charges were brought against Manchester City covering financial conduct between 2009 and 2018, and the independent commission upheld the vast majority of them. City were cleared on only one count, the charge concerning non-cooperation with the investigation itself.
It stands among the most significant rulings in Premier League history, given the number of charges proven and the length of time the commission spent examining them.
That near decade of charges covers the same years Everton spent chasing Champions League qualification and competing in domestic cups, the exact competitions where City’s financial conduct is now proven to have broken Premier League rules.
That is the reality behind the Man City charges Everton fans have debated for years. The club beating them to league position and cup finals in that era was not playing by the same financial rules as everyone else.
Calls for Title Stripping and What Comes Next for the Premier League
The scale of the verdict has prompted strong reactions. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for Manchester City to be stripped of their titles, relegated and fined, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
Manchester City have rejected the scale of the ruling. The club said they are “disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s findings, while noting they were cleared on the single charge of non-cooperation.
No punishment has been confirmed. Nothing in the ruling sets out points deductions, demotion or fines for City. Everton know how it feels to wait on Premier League discipline themselves, having felt treated unfairly by Premier League decisions in recent seasons.
David Moyes has steered the club past most of that turbulence, with Everton now settled at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and building for the future rather than looking back at the top four race City once dominated. For more on the current squad, see our latest Everton news and talking points.
Everton beat reporter steps down after four and a half years
Everton beat reporter steps down after four and a half years
Thierno Barry Goal Decision Upheld by Premier League Panel
Everton Match Reports