Manchester City have been referred to an independent commission over more than 100 alleged breaches of Premier League finance rules.
The breaches stretch from the 2009-10 season to the 2017-18 campaign, the league said. City, the defending league champions, were acquired by their Abu Dhabi-based owners, City Football Group, in 2008.
If the charges are proven City, could face a range of sanctions such as a points deduction, fines or even expulsion from the Premier League.
The league says the club breached rules relating to the provision of financial information, including relating to sponsorship revenue and operating costs.
The charges stem from a Premier League investigation into City’s financial dealings launched four years ago, months after the release of a tranche of confidential documents obtained and released by the German publication Der Spiegel.
City were subsequently banned from the Champions League by the European governing body UEFA for two years, but successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which overturned the ban in 2020.
The Premier League is probing potential rule breaches by Manchester City.Credit: AP
UEFA fined the club €30 million ($46.7 million), which was later reduced to €10 million by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
City are alleged by the Premier League to have not fully disclosed managerial remuneration in each of the seasons from 2009-10 to 2012-13, when Roberto Mancini was manager.
The club are also charged with failing to comply with Premier League’s rules requiring clubs to follow UEFA’s financial fair play regulations from the 2013-14 to 2017-18 seasons and failing to follow the Premier League’s rules on profit and sustainability from the 2015-16 to 2017-18 seasons.
The regulations are designed to stop clubs running up big losses by over-spending on players. They also ensure sponsorship deals are based on their real market value and are genuine commercial agreements rather than ways for owners to pump cash into a club and circumnavigate the rules.
The investigation includes issues relating to managerial pay during the period Roberto Mancini – now in charge of the Italian national team – was manager.Credit: AP
City are also alleged to have failed to cooperate with and assist the Premier League in its investigations from December 2018.
“The members of the commission will be appointed by the independent chair of the Premier League Judicial Panel,” the Premier League said in a statement.
“The proceedings before the commission will ... be confidential and heard in private.
“The Premier League will be making no further comment in respect of this matter until further notice.”
The club issued a statement, saying the league’s issuing of thee alleged breaches was surprising.
“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,” City said.
The referral came weeks before the expected publication of a government white paper set to recommend the establishment of an independent regulator in English football to deal with the game’s finances, club ownership and corporate governance.
While it remains to be seen what sanctions the commission imposes on City, a stricter stance by the Premier League on club finances could deter potential investors in clubs like Manchester United, according to a sports finance lawyer.
Both Manchester United and Liverpool are seeking new investors, in large part due to Middle Eastern investment in clubs such as City and Newcastle United and the collapse of a planned Super League, industry experts told Reuters.
Manchester City – the world’s highest revenue-generating club last season, according to Deloitte – have been transformed into a football superpower in the decade since being bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.
Under the Abu Dhabi ownership, City have won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and six English League Cups, bringing the club out of the shadows of neighbours Manchester United.
It has been the most successful period in the club’s 143-year history.
Reuters
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.