Manchester City accusations: Premier League confirms club guilty of all charges relating to financial rule violations

The Premier League has confirmed that Manchester City were found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18.

An independent commission found that during this period the club entered into “fictitious contracts” with a number of its commercial partners, and that it also “relied on fictitious agreements to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs”.

The statement also said City were guilty of the majority of charges relating to their lack of cooperation.

The Premier League released a redacted version of the commission’s report, which said the charges “concerned well over 100 individual alleged breaches of Premier League rules across four broad categories of charges.”

They also found the club guilty of all charges except one relating to non-cooperation with the Premier League investigation.

The fake business deals were described as part of a “disguised financing scheme” worth £830.69 million.

“The sponsorship agreements concerned were found to be a sham or, at a minimum, did not reflect their economic substance,” the commission said.

It also describes “deliberate or reckless conduct intended to circumvent the rules of the Premier League” and that the “sham” engineered by City allowed the club “to avoid recording what would otherwise have been the biggest single-season defeat in Premier League history in 2009-10”.

Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, said: “The fundamental decision sets out the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League rules for almost a decade.

“It also vindicates the Premier League’s decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. Although the process has been both long and difficult to date, the League has remained committed to having the facts established independently.

“It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the rules, agreed by the clubs themselves, are followed to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair to all clubs and supporters. We take this role extremely seriously.”

Meanwhile, a City statement said the club was “both disappointed and surprised by the advice of the Premier League committee”.

“The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and there is a comprehensive body of compelling evidence to support all of its positions regarding this matter,” the statement said.

“The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.

“The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements unfinished. Manchester City FC will now pursue the avenues of appeal open to it, on the basis that the notice contains obvious material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.”