Manchester City found guilty of ‘sham payments’ and £900m misstatements by independent commission | OneFootball

Manchester City have been found guilty by an independent regulatory commission of ‘sham payments’ and of artificially inflating revenue and reducing costs by more than £900m between 2009 and 2018. The panel found revenues overstated by £854.5m and expenses understated by £66.2m.

The Premier League confirmed the club were guilty of almost all of the more than 100 charges, including the most serious financial breaches, after a near two-year process. Sanctions will be determined at a further hearing, and City face severe punishment.

The club, champions eight times since Sheikh Mansour’s 2008 takeover, were also found to have breached duties of cooperation and utmost good faith. City will appeal by Friday, 2 October, arguing the opinion contains material errors in law, principle and fact, and maintain they are innocent with irrefutable evidence.

A video sent to staff showed chief executive Ferran Soriano insisting sponsorship income was paid entirely by sponsors and vowing to pursue all possible avenues to overturn the decision. The club signalled confidence about the appeal.

The case has been described as the most significant in Premier League history. Under league rules, any appeal goes to a new three-person commission for a five-day review, not a full rehearing, to be completed within 12 weeks of lodging, with a decision within 30 days.

Further challenges are limited to arbitration and, on restricted grounds, to the High Court’s commercial division against an arbitration decision. The saga is set to continue in the coming weeks.

Source: NY Times

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”