UEFA is monitoring developments and will wait until the conclusion of the Premier League’s disciplinary process before deciding whether to take any possible action against Manchester City.
City have been found guilty by an independent commission of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules between 2009 and 2018, including five counts of failing to apply UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules.
UEFA’s financial rules at the time meant that clubs were effectively limited to spending what they earned within the set revenue requirements.
The independent commission found that City’s owners invested £830m of their own money and disguised it as sponsorship income over nine seasons.
City are appealing the decision and maintain that they have a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that will clear their name.
In 2014 City entered into a settlement agreement with UEFA which included a £49m fine (£32m of which was suspended) after they were accused of breaching Financial Fair Play rules.
In 2020, City were found guilty of breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, fined €30m (£25.4m) and banned from European competition for two years.
City appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the ban was overturned, with CAS ruling that UEFA had failed to prove that City’s owners had disguised capital funds as sponsorship contributions, while the other offenses were time-barred.
CAS reduced City’s fine from €30m (£25.4m) to €10m (£8.5m) for failing to co-operate with UEFA’s investigation and stated that most of the alleged offenses were “either not proven or prohibited”.
UEFA has a five-year statute of limitations for breaches of financial rules, while the Premier League has no statute of limitations.
UEFA’s case was sparked by hacked City emails, which were published by German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018.
City said the internal documents were “out-of-context material believed to have been hacked or stolen” as part of an “organised and clear attempt to damage the club’s reputation”.
The Premier League investigation had access to documents and evidence which were not available to UEFA when it was building its case against City.
City and UEFA have been contacted for comment.
Analysis: How long will Man City’s appeal last?
Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports News:
“The appeal came in at 7pm on Thursday and so, under Premier League rules, the appeal has to be made and cleared within 12 weeks from that time, which takes us to the week before Christmas.
“The appeal can last only five days and those five days can only be in one block.
“The appeals panel, which must be a different three-person panel from the original panel, will have 30 days to decide and render its judgment. That would take you into the third week of January.
“This is now the accelerated time limit that has been introduced into the Premier League rules this season.
“Now, Man City can argue that this accelerated timeline should not apply in this case because this case has been going on for years and this new rule has only been introduced this season. This is something to watch out for.”
Details of Man City’s appeal strategy explained
The latest from Sky Sports News’ Lyall Thomas:
Manchester City are likely to argue as part of their appeal that the extra funding for their sponsorship deals came from the Abu Dhabi government and not the club’s owners. Sky Sports News understand.
City’s lawyers argued during the 2024 hearing that the funding had come from the Abu Dhabi government, but this was rejected by the independent commission, which “concluded that it was an explanation that the club had concocted well after the fact in an attempt to hide the realities of the Disguised Funding Scheme”.
However, it is understood that City are expected to continue to contest this argument.
Manchester City is majority owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Newton Investment and Development LLC. Sheikh Mansour is also a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi and he is the vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.
The separation of the UAE’s state-owned investments and those held privately by the Abu Dhabi royal family has long been a subject of debate and criticism.
What did the independent commission find?
- Manchester City arranged “falsified” contracts with a number of its commercial partners as part of a “disguised financing scheme” to artificially inflate the club’s revenue by £830 million.
- The club submitted accounts that hid the true state of its finances.
- Manchester City have significantly breached Premier League and UEFA spending limits and breached “over 100” Premier League regulations.
- Manchester City failed to cooperate and act in good faith with the league during the investigation, with three of the four alleged offenses upheld and one allegation not proven.
- The commission also said it was “regrettable” that a decision had taken so long to reach, with the hearing taking place between September and December 2024.
City: The process was not impartial
Following the publication of the guilty verdict on September 29, a statement from Manchester City said: “Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League commission, which has been published today.
“The club is innocent of the allegations made by the Premier League and there is a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence supporting all of its positions in relation to this case. The club will therefore be relentless and where necessary proactive in any and 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 opinion contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.
“The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League board and executive would act as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.
“The club is obviously limited in what it can say further until all future proceedings are completed.”
Manchester City’s statement incorrectly refers to a Premier League commission. It is an independent commission.
Why Man City’s appeal could drag into 2027
The latest from Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol and Amar Mehta:
Manchester City’s appeal could drag on into next year if they argue that the process should not be governed by the Premier League rules that were introduced for this season.
The city has filed its appeal, and new appeals rules say that part of the disciplinary process must be completed within 12 weeks and the appeal hearing cannot last more than five days.
City’s lawyers could argue that they were charged in 2023 and a hearing was held in 2024 – when the rules for an expedited appeal process were not in the Premier League Handbook.
A legal expert said Sky Sports News Manchester City would have a strong case to argue that the new rules should not apply in this case.
The new rules were introduced to ensure that clubs, where possible, were penalized in the same season as the relevant breaches of the rules.