Manchester City were found guilty of 114 Premier League financial rule breaches last month
General view inside the stadium before the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD2 match between Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
Manchester City have been found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules. (Image: Julian Finney - UEFA, UEFA via Getty Images)
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Representatives of Manchester City reportedly joined a trip with the UK Governament to India last week, despit the guilty verdict hanging over the club. City have been found guilty on 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules, something which they strongly deny.
The trip to Delhi and Mumbai saw a club representative travel alongside Manchester mayor Bev Craig. The trip was to promote British trade and tourism.
It comes just weeks after the Premier League announced that City had been found guilty by a three-person independent panel. The statement confirmed that it had been found that 'sham' sponsorships had been used by the club between 2009 and 2018 to 'artificially inflate' their revenue by around £900 million.
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City are appealing the verdict. A new three-person panel will again look at the evidence to dertimine if the original verdict is safe.
Speaking to The Guardian regarding the decision to include a City representative on the trip, despite the verdict, Craig said: "If a football club has broken the rules, a football club should be punished for breaking the rules, and that is pretty clear in an independent process.
A general view of the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City are appealing the guilty verdict. (Image: Anadolu, Anadolu via Getty Images)
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"I think what can also be true at the same time though, if you ask residents in east Manchester, have they benefited from a new library, a new leisure centre, a new sixth-form college, infrastructure investment, the job opportunities that come from them being a good employment charter signee and an early adopter of the real living wage – then they will have felt that benefit."
If the guilty verdict against City is upheld, they could face a range of penalties including points deductions, fines, transfer bans, or even expulsion from the Premier League. Any potential sanctions will be determined by the original panel that found City guilty of the charges.
Last week, the Greater Manchester mayor's authority released details of the contacts between former Manchester mayor and current Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and City's owners. These disclosed a formal meeting with chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak, as well as a conversation during a testimonial match.
It also emerged that Burnham was accompanied by club representatives on official overseas trips. During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Burnham confirmed that the matter of the Premier League charges had not been raised at any of the meetings.
The Prime Minister drew criticism for his remarks, in which he stated he would be 'really concerned' if the club's owners were compelled to sell up amid the guilty charges. Downing Street subsequently moved to clarify the comments, stating that if the verdict is upheld, those responsible should face consequences.