
An independent panel found Manchester City guilty of all charges of breaching Premier League financial rules over nine seasons, including using fake trades to inflate revenues and providing misleading accounts, while the club denied the charges and announced an appeal of the decision.
AI-generated summary
Major football clubs face repeated accusations of violating financial fair play rules imposed by the English Premier League and UEFA aimed at preventing artificial inflation of revenues and ensuring fair competition.
(CNN) - The English Premier League announced, on Tuesday, that an independent committee convicted Manchester City of all charges related to violating the league’s financial rules over a period of 9 seasons.
The committee found that the Citizens team, between the 2009/2010 and 2017/2018 seasons, used “fake trade” to “artificially” inflate the club’s revenues.
It also found that he provided “misleading accounts” and concealed “the true status of his finances from auditors and football regulatory bodies,” in addition to his “non-cooperation” with the league’s investigation.
The Premier League statement said: “An independent committee found Manchester City guilty of all charges relating to serious violations of the Premier League’s financial rules over a period of nine seasons, as well as most charges relating to its failure to cooperate with the investigation conducted by the Premier League.”
He added: “The independent committee concluded that, between the 2009/2010 and 2017/2018 seasons, Manchester City concluded contracts that carried misleading images of the actual agreement between the parties, with a number of its commercial partners, in addition to relying on fictitious agreements with other parties, with the aim of inflating the club’s revenues and artificially reducing its costs.”
He continued: “The club submitted inaccurate accounts and concealed the truth about its financial situation from auditors and football regulators. Manchester City has blatantly violated the spending restrictions imposed by both the English Premier League and the European Football Association (UEFA).”
He continued: “During the investigation conducted by the English Premier League, Manchester City committed multiple violations of its obligations related to cooperation and the principle of absolute good faith towards the Premier League (three of the four alleged violations were proven true).”
Manchester City responded, saying: “The club is disappointed and astonished by the opinion of the Premier League Committee that was published today (Tuesday). The club affirms its innocence of the accusations directed against it by the Premier League, and has conclusive and comprehensive evidence to support all of its positions regarding this issue. Therefore, the club will continue its tireless struggle, and will take proactive measures when necessary, in all relevant regulatory and legal bodies.”
He continued: “The Premier League procedures are still ongoing, with important elements that have not been completed, and Manchester City will now resort to all means of appeal available to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear fundamental errors in the law, principles and facts, and that it is unsound.”
He added: "The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League and the executive management will act as an independent, impartial and fair regulator, free of partisan influence. It is clear that the club is restricted in what it can say more than that until all future procedures are completed."
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Manchester City will take legal and appeal measures against the decision of the independent committee
Very likely · Within weeks
The Premier League will continue its investigations against the club
Likely · Within months

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