Manchester City found guilty on Premier League's 115 charges | OneFootball

An independent commission found that the club committed serious breaches over a nine-season period. City denies the allegations and has until October 2 to file an appeal.

Manchester City is facing one of the most delicate moments in its recent history after an independent commission found it guilty of charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.

The league confirmed the ruling this Tuesday after a process that stretched on for years and covers a nine-season period, between 2009 and 2018. The commission also found the club guilty on most of the charges related to its lack of cooperation during the investigation.

However, the case is not closed yet. Manchester City can appeal the ruling and has until Friday, October 2, to do so. In addition, no final sanction has been announced yet.

The commission points to financial irregularities

According to the ruling, the commission concluded that Manchester City used commercial agreements that did not fully reflect the reality of certain transactions.

The investigation determined that there were commercial contracts considered fictitious or disguised, as well as financing mechanisms that allowed the club to present a financial position different from what, according to the commission, reflected reality.

The ruling also states that these operations would have allowed City to reduce certain costs and artificially increase its income during the period under investigation.

Another issue highlighted concerns the club’s cooperation with the Premier League investigation, where the commission found City responsible for most of the charges related to this aspect.

Manchester City rejects the verdict

The club reacted strongly and once again defended its innocence against the allegations.

“Manchester City FC is disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, published today. The Club is innocent of the charges brought by the Premier League, and there is a substantial body of irrefutable evidence supporting all of its positions in relation to this case.”

City also said it will pursue the legal avenues available to it and questioned the commission’s ruling.

“The Premier League process remains ongoing, with important aspects still to be completed. Manchester City FC will now pursue all legal avenues available to it, given that the opinion contains obvious material errors of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.”

The club added that throughout the eight years of the process it trusted that the competition’s bodies would act as independent and impartial regulators.

What comes next for Manchester City?

For now, there is no final sanction resulting from this ruling. The next step will be to see whether Manchester City formally files its appeal within the established deadline.

Premier League rules provide for different types of sanctions for financial breaches, which may include fines or points deductions, among other measures. Any specific consequence will depend on the next stages of the process and is not determined by the verdict announced this Tuesday.

Therefore, although the ruling represents a major blow to the club, the case still has a legal and sporting road ahead.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.