MANCHEATER CITY: IT’S OFFICIAL

Manchester City breached Premier League financial rules by creating “sham” contracts to help inflate revenue and reduce costs by more than £900m over a nine-year period, an independent commission found.

The league announced on Tuesday that City had been found guilty on all charges related to serious breaches of its financial rules between seasons 2009-10 and 2017-18. It said a sanction would be addressed in a further hearing with the commission.

City created a number of commercial deals with sponsors that were part of a scheme to disguise where the funding was coming from, the commission concluded. Companies were required to pay only a portion of the stipulated fees, with the remainder funded by the Abu Dhabi United Group Investment + Development Ltd (Adug), which owned the club.

City deny wrongdoing and will appeal against the verdict before Friday’s deadline. “Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League commission,” a club statement read. “The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.”

The commission said City “clearly intended to circumvent the Premier League rules”. The club were also found guilty of failing to cooperate by trying to “stop and frustrate” the investigations, which began in December 2018.

A number of options are on the table regarding sanctions, including the stripping of titles, financial penalties and points deductions.

The Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Masters, described the case and decision as “the most significant” in its history. “The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period,” Masters said. “It details how the club systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade.

“It also vindicates the Premier League’s decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the league has remained determined that the facts be established independently.

“It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the rules, approved by the clubs themselves, are upheld to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the league remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans.”

Masters added: “There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches. Now we have the commission’s decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the league, our clubs and fans.”

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This is huge for football in this country (UK) and beyond, regardless of the punishments that might be meted out

Sadly, I only see the Citeh hierarchy ‘digging in’ and ‘drawing out’ the process, which will likely impact the game for some years to come

Man Citeh have no credibility for their ‘acheatments’ in my eyes, but I don’t think they’ll have any trophies taken away, and financial penalties will only make a small dent, so expulsion from (at least) the Premier League, some kind of transfer ban, and a hefty points handicap for some seasons to come, is the only answer I can see

Maybe a reformation and a rename? Manchester Citeh somehow seems sad but highly appropriate!

FFP is nonsense created for the sole purpose of ring fencing the top clubs current monopoly. I'd rather City win it than United, Arsenal or Liverpool

I reckon they might be demoted by more than just one league….

Do people still think the punishment won't be heavy?

That statement from the Premier League is damning.

I'm in Liverpool at themoment and a couple of thelocals think they'll get given some more league titles.

Not sure that happen but think the minimum theygett is relegation and somr sort of fine.

FFP is nonsense created for the sole purpose of ring fencing the top clubs current monopoly. I'd rather City win it than United, Arsenal or Liverpool

FFP was brought in to stop clubs going to the wall, as at the turn of this century every week it seemed clubs were going bust.

Manchester united are a billion in debt whilst Citeh are in the black

Undoubtedly, City broke the rules and they will be punished I just think the rules are used to stop new entrants rather than protect poorly run clubs.

FFP is nonsense created for the sole purpose of ring fencing the top clubs current monopoly. I'd rather City win it than United, Arsenal or Liverpool

I agree FFP (or whatever it’s now called) is a nonsense in its current form, but rules are rules, and our own club are only too aware of that!

Man Citeh ‘cheated’ fir their own ends, so they simply must pay a hefty penalty or there’s will think it’s ‘okay’, too!

FFP is nonsense created for the sole purpose of ring fencing the top clubs current monopoly. I'd rather City win it than United, Arsenal or Liverpool

I agree FFP (or whatever it’s now called) is a nonsense in its current form, but rules are rules, and our own club are only too aware of that!

Man Citeh ‘cheated’ fir their own ends, so they simply must pay a hefty penalty or there’s will think it’s ‘okay’, too!

Chelsea villa between themselves cheated ffp or manipulated it but it was allowed to happen man c done for inflated commercial deals.....in villa Chelsea it was player inflation! It was so blatant .... bet others guilty as well of doing things underhand! Football is totally corrupt

Do people still think the punishment won't be heavy?

That statement from the Premier League is damning.

I'm in Liverpool at the moments and a couple of the locals think they'll get given some more league titles.

Not sure that happen but think the minimum they get is relegation and somr sort of fine.

Ned, I can’t see any other outcome than massive penalties; particularly as Man Citeh remain in denial

The Liverpool (and other) supporters will be loving this, but ultimately, it’s the Premier League and ‘independent’ investigators who have done their jobs, reviewed the evidence, sought legal advice, and arrived at this conclusion

Opposition supporters are going to have the proverbial ‘field day’ with this and it couldn’t happen to a more entitled supporter group

Can someone explain to me why this is not a serious fraud sqaud police and HMRC investigations case now?

Do they pay VAT or tax on player sales, and if wages were split between the UK and Abu Dhabi for services in the UK, surely it's an income tax issue

FFP is nonsense created for the sole purpose of ring fencing the top clubs current monopoly. I'd rather City win it than United, Arsenal or Liverpool

I agree FFP (or whatever it’s now called) is a nonsense in its current form, but rules are rules, and our own club are only too aware of that!

Man Citeh ‘cheated’ fir their own ends, so they simply must pay a hefty penalty or there’s will think it’s ‘okay’, too!

Chelsea villa between themselves cheated ffp or manipulated it but it was allowed to happen man c done for inflated commercial deals.....in villa Chelsea it was player inflation! It was so blatant .... bet others guilty as well of doing things underhand! Football is totally corrupt

Absolutely, Allan, but a gulf of difference between those clubs and Citeh. Each has paid a price for their transgressions, and in Chelski’s case, they reported themselves after the new owners went through the full books

Football is corrupt, so when the offending clubs are caught, they need to be taken to task in ways that just might make them think twice next time out!

I’d say the same if it were our club. Cheating should never be an acceptable way of gaining an advantage. That’s simply not ‘competitive’

Can someone explain to me why this is not a serious fraud sqaud police and HMRC investigations case now?

Do they pay VAT or tax on player sales, and if wages were split between the UK and Abu Dhabi for services in the UK, surely it's an income tax issue

Fair question. Maybe next?

I personally couldn’t care less. Fair play to them if that’s what they want to spend their money on then they should feel free. The amount of extra money they would have brought to this country in taxes from players alone. Lots of clubs have done far worse and pretty much got away with it, clubs run beyond they financial means and leaving local businesses out of pocket while they cancel they debts and start all over again.
Think it’s more they upset the big boys ruffled a few feathers. The scousers and mancs don’t like be the top boys any more.

"To cheat, trick, deceive, delude with false pretences; to impose upon, take in, hoax."

That is the Oxford English definition of the word "sham".

And that word appears eight times in the independent commission's ruling published on Tuesday, which found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of financial rules, and all but one in relation to a failure to co-operate with the investigation.

The 40-page document makes fascinating reading.

It catalogues how the club's owners, Abu Dhabi United Group, knew from the 2009-10 season that there would be major overspends if the club was to reach the level they wanted to get to.

So, the ruling says, City found a way to boost sponsorship income. Season, after season, after season.

For nine seasons, in fact.

The report shows how the club's owners were topping up the value of the deals.

The so-called Disguised Funding Scheme is the central plank in a series of charges that Manchester City have been found guilty of by the Premier League.

This scheme managed to hide more than £830m of sponsorship funding, while other devices hid £90m in expenses.

The problem became apparent very quickly for the new owners -

Manchester City were bought by Abu Dhabi investors in 2008 but, the document says, their predicament had become clear from the start of the 2009-10 season.

These were ambitious new owners who did not just want the club to be competitive. They wanted to have the best players and be winners.

That was not going to be possible without spending more money. And lots of it.

Total losses for the 2009-10 campaign were going to exceed what was, at that time, the record single-season financial loss by a Premier League member club. That was Chelsea FC in 2006, of £140m.

According to the ruling, that was a record that the City owners were adamant the club should not break

And not only that.

The club knew they would likely continue to suffer large losses for at least the following five seasons.

This was when both Uefa and the Premier League were about to bring in financial fair play rules.

This was clearly going to be a problem.

To address this the only option was to significantly increase commercial revenue - and reduce the reliance on their owners.

Can someone explain to me why this is not a serious fraud sqaud police and HMRC investigations case now?

Do they pay VAT or tax on player sales, and if wages were split between the UK and Abu Dhabi for services in the UK, surely it's an income tax issue

Fair question. Maybe next?

No way the government/legal system gets involved. Same reason Newcastle takeover was allowed, we need Gulf State investment

FFP is nonsense created for the sole purpose of ring fencing the top clubs current monopoly. I'd rather City win it than United, Arsenal or Liverpool

I agree FFP (or whatever it’s now called) is a nonsense in its current form, but rules are rules, and our own club are only too aware of that!

Man Citeh ‘cheated’ fir their own ends, so they simply must pay a hefty penalty or there’s will think it’s ‘okay’, too!

Chelsea villa between themselves cheated ffp or manipulated it but it was allowed to happen man c done for inflated commercial deals.....in villa Chelsea it was player inflation! It was so blatant .... bet others guilty as well of doing things underhand! Football is totally corrupt

I'm not against financial rules to stop teams going bust but the way it's set up is to curtail teams challenging the current order. City broke the rules and should be punished but I don't understand the outrage at it. I personally don't care if they've taken titles off United and Arsenal etc

So Man City pay all they bills invest in the area create loads of jobs and bring in lots of extra tax for schools hospitals etc. are the bad guys and should be kicked out. Yet teams like bury are badly run didn’t pay their bills and left local businesses out of pocket and probably worse and took jobs from people. And they the victims and should have been helped more. I just don’t get it? Seems more people upset they took titles from their beloved Liverpool and Man U. Shame more owners don’t break up the top tier clubs that everyone bending over backwards to protect.

So Man City pay all they bills invest in the area create loads of jobs and bring in lots of extra tax for schools hospitals etc. are the bad guys and should be kicked out. Yet teams like bury are badly run didn’t pay their bills and left local businesses out of pocket and probably worse and took jobs from people. And they the victims and should have been helped more. I just don’t get it? Seems more people upset they took titles from their beloved Liverpool and Man U. Shame more owners don’t break up the top tier clubs that everyone bending over backwards to protect.

That’s a skewed view, as Citeh (and other clubs who invest in their communities) can do so without cooking the books. The basic ‘issue’ is they knowingly broke the rules, covered it up, denied it, and refused to cooperate with the investigations

According to the rules in place, Citeh cheated their way to titles, cups, and status, and deserve to be punished; and I’d say the same fir any team that gets found doing similar, even if that was our own

Rules and standards are important and if clubs are not happy, they can lobby to get them changed rather than circumnavigating them!

So Man City pay all they bills invest in the area create loads of jobs and bring in lots of extra tax for schools hospitals etc. are the bad guys and should be kicked out. Yet teams like bury are badly run didn’t pay their bills and left local businesses out of pocket and probably worse and took jobs from people. And they the victims and should have been helped more. I just don’t get it? Seems more people upset they took titles from their beloved Liverpool and Man U. Shame more owners don’t break up the top tier clubs that everyone bending over backwards to protect.

That’s a skewed view, as Citeh (and other clubs who invest in their communities) can do so without cooking the books. The basic ‘issue’ is they knowingly broke the rules, covered it up, denied it, and refused to cooperate with the investigations

According to the rules in place, Citeh cheated their way to titles, cups, and status, and deserve to be punished; and I’d say the same fir any team that gets found doing similar, even if that was our own

Rules and standards are important and if clubs are not happy, they can lobby to get them changed rather than circumnavigating them!

Cheating is just spending more money though isn't it. It didn't put the club in danger which the rules are designed to stop, every one of these clubs is inventive with their book keeping and some just get away with things (United 40m COVID). No idea what your issue with City seems to be, I wish we had owners like that

FFP is nonsense created for the sole purpose of ring fencing the top clubs current monopoly. I'd rather City win it than United, Arsenal or Liverpool

FFP was brought in to stop clubs going to the wall, as at the turn of this century every week it seemed clubs were going bust.

Manchester united are a billion in debt whilst Citeh are in the black

Undoubtedly, City broke the rules and they will be punished I just think the rules are used to stop new entrants rather than protect poorly run clubs.

Exactly the OLD biggest clubs here and in Europe: ManU, Liverpool, Barca, Real, and the rest didn't want to be caught; they have the money; they should have been able to do what they want.

Still, rules are rules: throw the book at them and stick them in League one.

So Man City pay all they bills invest in the area create loads of jobs and bring in lots of extra tax for schools hospitals etc. are the bad guys and should be kicked out. Yet teams like bury are badly run didn’t pay their bills and left local businesses out of pocket and probably worse and took jobs from people. And they the victims and should have been helped more. I just don’t get it? Seems more people upset they took titles from their beloved Liverpool and Man U. Shame more owners don’t break up the top tier clubs that everyone bending over backwards to protect.

That’s a skewed view, as Citeh (and other clubs who invest in their communities) can do so without cooking the books. The basic ‘issue’ is they knowingly broke the rules, covered it up, denied it, and refused to cooperate with the investigations

According to the rules in place, Citeh cheated their way to titles, cups, and status, and deserve to be punished; and I’d say the same fir any team that gets found doing similar, even if that was our own

Rules and standards are important and if clubs are not happy, they can lobby to get them changed rather than circumnavigating them!

They cheated stupid rules brought in to keep the biggest clubs in the World as the biggest clubs in the World.

But yes, rules are rules; we've had to obey them, so chuck the book at them, and look at FFP again and adjust it to make it fair for wealthy club owners to invest with safety net guarantees.

The majority of fans AND clubs would want Man City RELEGATED
Any new member of the EFL has to join in League 2 as a rule from the EFL.
Also a vote would need to take place for the 72 EFL clubs to decide where to put Man City.

I want RELEGATION for Man City but i fear that they will only get 20 to 30 points deduction for the next 3 to 5 seasons.
With transfer bans for up to 3 seasons.

What a crazy situation this is
we could see Man City in the EFL or if the EFL vote NOT to have Man City then they might get pushed to the National League but thats very unlikely.

I wont be surprised if they are voting behind the scenes in the EFL on whether to have Man City in the EFL and if so where.
They are having a meeting to discuss the sanction on Man City today

Fair play is all about keeping Arsenal , Liverpool and Man U at the top of the tree and keeping everyone out. I don't see a problem if an owner wants to put money into a club. Newcastle are being stopped being an elite club due to these rules. I would rather watched and seen Man City winning titles and stopping Liverpool fans( who seem to be all over S Wales)

Fair play is all about keeping Arsenal , Liverpool and Man U at the top of the tree and keeping everyone out. I don't see a problem if an owner wants to put money into a club. Newcastle are being stopped being an elite club due to these rules. I would rather watched and seen Man City winning titles and stopping Liverpool fans( who seem to be all over S Wales)

I'd understand if it was about match fixing or something but owners spending their own money give me a break

Fair play is all about keeping Arsenal , Liverpool and Man U at the top of the tree and keeping everyone out. I don't see a problem if an owner wants to put money into a club. Newcastle are being stopped being an elite club due to these rules. I would rather watched and seen Man City winning titles and stopping Liverpool fans( who seem to be all over S Wales)

It would be great to see Newcastle beat them; it's just elite clubs' rule-fixing to keep their advantage.

Liverpool fans were bleating on, waiting until FFP; then they would be top again, as they get income from glory-hunting fans who want to relive past glory days.

So Man City pay all they bills invest in the area create loads of jobs and bring in lots of extra tax for schools hospitals etc. are the bad guys and should be kicked out. Yet teams like bury are badly run didn’t pay their bills and left local businesses out of pocket and probably worse and took jobs from people. And they the victims and should have been helped more. I just don’t get it? Seems more people upset they took titles from their beloved Liverpool and Man U. Shame more owners don’t break up the top tier clubs that everyone bending over backwards to protect.

That’s a skewed view, as Citeh (and other clubs who invest in their communities) can do so without cooking the books. The basic ‘issue’ is they knowingly broke the rules, covered it up, denied it, and refused to cooperate with the investigations

According to the rules in place, Citeh cheated their way to titles, cups, and status, and deserve to be punished; and I’d say the same fir any team that gets found doing similar, even if that was our own

Rules and standards are important and if clubs are not happy, they can lobby to get them changed rather than circumnavigating them!

Cheating is just spending more money though isn't it. It didn't put the club in danger which the rules are designed to stop, every one of these clubs is inventive with their book keeping and some just get away with things (United 40m COVID). No idea what your issue with City seems to be, I wish we had owners like that

It goes way beyond ‘just spending money’ though, doesn’t it? Look at what they ‘won’ unfairly during that period for starters

My personal opinion of FFP (or whatever it’s now called) is pretty low, and I think clubs should be able to spend more of their owners money, if (the key word) they can afford it. But rules is rules, and they’ve been caught. Others (I’m sure they are out there being ‘inventive’ with their books) may or may not follow, and judgement on them made at that point

I never had an issue with Citeh until this. In my book, it was a blatant action to gain an advantage, and against the rules in place, and I repeat, I’d say the same of any club who did similar

The Arabs have a lot of political sway in the UK and also massive investments (Arms, military support) be interesting to see how it pans out

So Man City pay all they bills invest in the area create loads of jobs and bring in lots of extra tax for schools hospitals etc. are the bad guys and should be kicked out. Yet teams like bury are badly run didn’t pay their bills and left local businesses out of pocket and probably worse and took jobs from people. And they the victims and should have been helped more. I just don’t get it? Seems more people upset they took titles from their beloved Liverpool and Man U. Shame more owners don’t break up the top tier clubs that everyone bending over backwards to protect.

That’s a skewed view, as Citeh (and other clubs who invest in their communities) can do so without cooking the books. The basic ‘issue’ is they knowingly broke the rules, covered it up, denied it, and refused to cooperate with the investigations

According to the rules in place, Citeh cheated their way to titles, cups, and status, and deserve to be punished; and I’d say the same fir any team that gets found doing similar, even if that was our own

Rules and standards are important and if clubs are not happy, they can lobby to get them changed rather than circumnavigating them!

Cheating is just spending more money though isn't it. It didn't put the club in danger which the rules are designed to stop, every one of these clubs is inventive with their book keeping and some just get away with things (United 40m COVID). No idea what your issue with City seems to be, I wish we had owners like that

It goes way beyond ‘just spending money’ though, doesn’t it? Look at what they ‘won’ unfairly during that period for starters

My personal opinion of FFP (or whatever it’s now called) is pretty low, and I think clubs should be able to spend more of their owners money, if (the key word) they can afford it. But rules is rules, and they’ve been caught. Others (I’m sure they are out there being ‘inventive’ with their books) may or may not follow, and judgement on them made at that point

I never had an issue with Citeh until this. In my book, it was a blatant action to gain an advantage, and against the rules in place, and I repeat, I’d say the same of any club who did similar

The spirit of those rules that they broke where to stop teams going to the wall. A few elite teams have decided that they can use that to block everyone else ever challenging them. That's cheating just because you've managed to get some idiot to write it into the laws doesn't make it right. I'd much prefer a system where a billionaire can come to your club and your suddenly a top team than it be the same few clubs forever because they've managed to become big enough to sell T-shirts in Asia. I hope City win the title and stick it to all the plastic fans around the country

You can add lipstick, a wig, high heels and even a short skirt to it but it's still a pig in the end no matter what anyone says or tries to twist the truth they cheated and been caught out breaking rules galore that's the facts and they will get what's coming to them.

The same as any sport you cheat to gain an advantage you will get punished if caught. People will try to dress this up as it's all good somehow which is rather bizarre and deluded in my opinion even after there owners have been proven to try cheat the systems rules in the prem.

Sky sports news has turned in to Man city news all other sport is void apparently

It's the fan's I feel sorry for in the end whatever happens.