Man City charged by Premier League over alleged rule breaches

The Premier League have announced they have charged Manchester City over five alleged league financial rule breaches and referred them to an independent commission.

The majority of the alleged offences date from 2009-2018, with the latter in relation from 2018 to now.

In a statement on Monday (6 February) the Premier League said:  “In accordance with Premier League Rule W.82.1, the Premier League confirms that it has today referred a number of alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules by Manchester City Football Club (Club) to a Commission under Premier League Rule W.3.4.”

The statement then went on to detail the five alleged rule breaches and their timeframes.

The first alleged offence relates to ‘accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position, in particular with respect to its revenue’. This dates between 2009/10 to 2017/18 inclusive.

The second alleged offence relates to ‘details of manager remuneration’ between 2009/10 to 2012/13 inclusive, as well as ‘full details of player remuneration’ between 2010/11 to 2015/16 inclusive.

The third alleged offence relates to the club needing ‘to comply with UEFA’s regulations’ between 2013/14 to 2017/18.

The fourth alleged offence relates to the Premier League rules regarding ‘Profitability and Sustainability’ between 2015/16 to 2017/18.

The fifth alleged offence relates to ‘requiring a member club to cooperate with, and assist, the Premier League in its investigations’ between December 2018 to date.

Independent commission

The statement added: “Commissions are independent of the Premier League and member clubs. The members of the Commission will be appointed by the independent Chair of the Premier League Judicial Panel, in accordance with Premier League Rules W.19, W.20 and W.26.

“The proceedings before the Commission will, in accordance with Premier League Rule W.82, be confidential and heard in private. Under Premier League Rule W.82.2, the Commission’s final award will be published on the Premier League’s website.

“This confirmation is made in accordance with Premier League Rule W.82.1. The Premier League will be making no further comment in respect of this matter until further notice.”

In a statement released a few hours later, City said: “Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with.

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.

As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.