by Manchester City could lose points or even be kicked out of the Premier League if more than 100 alleged rule infringements announced on Monday are proven.
The Premier League issued a statement on its website announcing that the club, which has won the competition six times since 2011, had been referred to an independent commission in respect of a series of alleged rule breaches relating to the club’s finances.
The alleged breaches concerned the reporting of accurate financial information, the reporting of details of manager and player payment information within relevant contracts, the responsibility of a club as a member of the Premier League to comply with the regulations of the Game Clean Financial of UEFA and with the own profitability and sustainability of the league. regulations
The club is also alleged to have breached rules requiring them to cooperate with and assist with the Premier League’s investigation into those offences, which the league says began in December 2018.
Manchester City issued a statement expressing surprise at the announcement of the alleged rule breaches, citing a “broad engagement” with the Premier League on the matter. The club also said they had “irrefutable evidence” in support of their position.
Premier League rule W.51 covers the sanctioning powers available to commissions in the event that alleged breaches of league rules are proven.
These range from a booking, through deduction of points to a recommendation to the league to expel a club from the competition.
The commission has the power to condition such sanctions on defined actions being taken within a fixed period of time, and defendants have the right to appeal.
City’s statement said: “Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuance of these alleged breaches of Premier League rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and wealth of detailed materials that have been provided to the EPL.
“The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the full body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.
“As such, we hope that this matter is settled once and for all.”
It is understood that the club’s chief executive, Ferran Soriano, was only notified by his Premier League counterpart, Richard Masters, of the reference to alleged offences, when the statement was being published on the league’s website.
The club is also aware of the time when the Premier League is flexing its regulatory force on financial matters, as a Government White Paper, which will include plans for an independent regulator, is about to be published.
City have vigorously fought and denied the charges relating to alleged breaches of the UEFA FFP rules. They were found guilty by UEFA’s club financial watchdog for “serious breaches” of FFP rules in February 2020 and placed on a two-year UEFA competition ban, but this ban was overturned in appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in July 2020. the same year.
The chairman of the Premier League’s independent judicial panel is Murray Rosen KC, who was appointed in 2020.
The president will select people to sit with him on a panel to consider the alleged rule violations in this case. The panel also has access to consult other independent financial and legal experts.
The alleged violations span a period from the 2009-10 season to the 2017-18 campaign.
The club is alleged to have breached league rules that require the provision “in the best of good faith” of “accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the financial situation of the club.”
The league says the precise financial information required relates to “revenues (including sponsorship income), its related parties, and its operating costs.”
The second set of offenses listed concerns the alleged breach of rules “requiring a member club to include full details of manager’s remuneration in its relevant contracts with its manager” in relation to the 2009-10 to 2012-13 seasons. inclusive.
The club’s manager between December 2009 and May 2013 was the current manager of Italy, Roberto Mancini.
The second set of alleged breaches also concerns requirements for a club to include full details of player remuneration in relevant contracts, for the 2010-11 to 2015-16 seasons inclusive.
The third section deals with alleged breaches of Premier League rules requiring clubs to comply with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations, between 2013-14 and 2017-18.
The fourth set of alleged breaches relates to the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules for the 2015-16 to 2017-18 seasons inclusive.
Finally, the club is alleged to have breached league rules that require member clubs to cooperate and assist the Premier League with its investigations, from December 2018 to date.
The Premier League statement concluded: “Proceedings before the Commission, in accordance with Premier League Rule W.82, will be confidential and heard in private. Pursuant to Premier League Rule W.82.2, the Commission’s final award will be published on the Premier League website.
“This confirmation is made in accordance with Premier League Rule W.82.1. The Premier League will have no further comment on this matter until further notice.”
