Manchester City Football Club has been charged with several alleged breaches of financial rules by the Premier League.
According to the Premier League, the allegations span a period of nine seasons, from the 2009-10 campaign to the 2017-18 season. The Premier League has referred the matter to an independent commission.
In a statement, the Premier League said, “In accordance with Premier League Rule W.82.1, the Premier League confirms that it has today [February 6, 2023] referred a number of alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules by Manchester City Football Club (Club) to a commission under Premier League Rule W.3.4.”
The members of the commission will be appointed by the independent chair of the Premier League judicial panel, and the proceedings will be confidential and heard in private.
The alleged breaches of financial rules include failing to provide “accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”, as required by the league rules. The league has stated that the accurate financial information required covers revenue, related parties, and operating costs.
The second set of allegations deals with the club’s failure to include full details of manager remuneration in contracts with its managers during the seasons 2009-10 to 2012-13. The club is also alleged to have failed to include full details of player remuneration in contracts during the seasons 2010-11 to 2015-16.
The third set of allegations relates to Manchester City’s alleged violation of UEFA financial fair play regulations between the 2013-14 and 2017-18 seasons.
The fourth set of allegations concerns the club’s alleged violation of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules during the 2015-16 to 2017-18 seasons.
The club has been charged with breaching league rules requiring member clubs to cooperate with and assist the Premier League with its investigations, from December 2018 to the present.
In 2020, Manchester City had a two-year ban from European football overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after being handed a suspension by UEFA’s club financial control body for “serious breaches” of club licensing and financial fair play regulations.
