Manchester City appeals Premier League financial breach verdict

Manchester City have confirmed they have lodged an appeal after an independent commission found the club guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations.

In a short statement, the club said the commission's ruling contained "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe".

Asserting its innocence, the club added it had filed "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence [that] exists in support of all of its positions" on Thursday evening.

Earlier on Friday, the Football Association said the verdict against City has "significant implications for the integrity of the game".

In a statement, English football's governing body added: "We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate."

It was confirmed on Tuesday that City were found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

"As proceedings between the Premier League and Manchester City Football Club remain ongoing, we do not intend to comment further at this stage," the FA added.

"We will, however, continue to monitor developments closely."

The overarching powers the FA has could see the governing body launch its own investigation into the matter with the threat of further sanctions.

Sources told BBC Sport that City were expected to claim that key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government, rather than the club's owners, as part of an appeal.

However, City's defence may be undermined by statements that major sponsor Etihad Airways gave to the United States government in 2015.

In response to the US Department of Commerce, Transportation and State during an investigation into state-owned airlines, Etihad Airways said: "The assertion that the Abu Dhabi government paid for Etihad's sponsorship of English Premier League football club Manchester City is false. In 2011, Etihad and Manchester City entered into a 10-year sponsorship agreement, which included naming rights for Manchester City's stadium. Etihad funded this sponsorship from its own liquidity."

Etihad Airways later stated: "We are and have always been clear that we do not receive any subsidies from the Abu Dhabi government."

The independent panel's findings decided that City arranged "sham contracts" with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than £830m.

The Premier League says City "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade".

The independent commission which studied the case found City "utilised devices" to "disguise the true extent of certain club liabilities".

The findings have prompted the Treasury Committee, which is responsible for overseeing policies and administration of His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), to ask whether the government department has requested the redacted documents contained within the commission's report.

Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the cross-party group of MPs, said she would "welcome reassurance from HMRC that you are seized of the importance of these issues and the public interest in this case".

The letter follows a report from the Tax Policy Associates, external which claims City failed to pay as much as £12m in unpaid tax because of a "sham" contract with former manager Roberto Mancini.

In addition to unpaid income tax and National Insurance, the report claims City could face a penalty charge that would take their liabilities to £24m.

The Business, Innovation, Science and Trade committee has called for stronger action on corporate accounting in a letter to the government and the Financial Reporting Council.

Committee Chair Liam Byrne said the findings suggested a "serious failure of security" and that "clubs complying with the rules need confidence that those rules are enforced fairly".

Separately, it has emerged that City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak met with business secretary Jonathan Reynolds days before the club's guilty verdicts were announced.

The BBC has been told that the club was not mentioned and that Al Mubarak was visiting in his capacity as CEO of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.

It is understood the pair's discussions focussed on the UK's relationship with the UAE including defence, security, intelligence and trade.

UK government sources argue it is "totally normal" for the business secretary to have these sorts of meetings.

The encounter was first reported by Bloomberg.

Additional reporting by BBC political correspondent Joe Pike.

City will claim as part of their appeal that key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government, rather than the club's owners.

Owners Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) - a private investment company belonging to United Arab Emirates vice-president and deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour - are said to have topped up the value of commercial deals as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to the scale of £830.69m.

This, it was argued, enabled the club to appear to comply with Premier League and Uefa financial rules.

Premier League rules allow state-owned bodies to sponsor clubs.

Etihad Airways has said it is considering legal action against the Premier League, claiming the release of the commission findings had "damaging implications… despite the airline not being named in the redacted published findings".

The UAE's state-owned national airline said it "categorically rejects any finding, conclusion or implication that suggests the airline has ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements".

Etihad is owned by sovereign wealth fund L'Imad which is chaired by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the son of the UAE president.