The verdict threatening Manchester City: guilty of all serious breaches | OneFootball

Manchester City already has its verdict. An independent commission has found the English club guilty of all serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, from 2009/10 to 2017/18. The body also considers it proven that the club committed most of the charges related to its lack of cooperation during the investigation.

The ruling marks a decisive step in one of the biggest disciplinary proceedings in the history of English football. The Premier League made public this Tuesday the core findings of the independent commission after years of investigation and a process that included a 42-day hearing, concluded in December 2024.

More than £900 million under suspicion

According to the findings published by the Premier League, Manchester City used contracts that did not reflect the real agreements with certain commercial partners, as well as other arrangements considered fictitious. The aim, according to the commission, was to artificially inflate the club’s revenue and reduce its costs.

The body maintains that these operations allowed Manchester City’s accounts to be altered by more than £900 million, an amount exceeding €1 billion at the exchange rate. The commission considers that, if the transactions had been recorded correctly, the club would have significantly breached the spending limits set by both the Premier League and UEFA.

The ruling also states that the club submitted incorrect financial information and concealed from its auditors and the regulatory bodies what its real financial situation was during the period under investigation. The Premier League maintains that the operations allowed City to appear to comply with the competition’s financial rules.

Also guilty over its conduct during the investigation

The verdict is not limited to the club’s accounts. The independent commission considers that Manchester City breached its obligations to cooperate with the Premier League investigation on several occasions.

Of the four breaches related to this issue, three were considered proven. The commission itself concluded that the club made efforts to obstruct and frustrate the investigation during the process, according to the competition’s official statement.

The Premier League has described the proceedings as the most important disciplinary case in its history. Richard Masters, the league’s chief executive, said that the decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during that period and that it shows, according to the commission’s findings, that the club broke the competition’s rules for almost a decade.

The punishment has not yet been decided

The verdict, however, does not yet impose a sanction. The Premier League has confirmed that the punishment will be dealt with in a later independent hearing and that the proceedings will remain private until the outcome can be made public.

The competition’s rules provide for different types of sanctions, including fines and points deductions, as well as other sporting measures. For now, therefore, any specific punishment for Manchester City would be premature.

The club has not yet exhausted its legal options either. Manchester City has until 2 October to appeal the independent commission’s findings. The ruling therefore marks a turning point in the case, but not the end of the long conflict between the club and the Premier League.

The big question now hangs in the air: What punishment will Manchester City receive? The answer will come in a second phase of the process, while the 'sky blue' side is expected to prepare its battle to try to overturn a verdict that marks a before and after in the recent history of the Premier League.

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