October 1 – After the English Premier League announced that Manchester City arranged “fake contracts” to conceal £830 million worth of secret funding, the club have until Friday to appeal the decision.
The club has been found guilty of deliberately circumventing EPL rules and calling witnesses who testified they knew they were false, as rival clubs call for swift sanctions and Etihad Airways considers legal action.
Pep Guardiola, who ran the sky-blue ship for much of the period under such intense scrutiny, has responded publicly by closing ranks around the club’s ownership and hierarchy.
Speaking in detail for the first time since the ruling, Guardiola backed owner Sheikh Mansour, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano, saying: “We will get through this together.”
His intervention is significant because Guardiola had previously said he trusted City executives when they insisted the allegations against the club were unfounded. Still, it’s a curious moment that ended his decade-long spell at the club just as the verdict in the case was beginning to become clear.
The commission’s findings, however, found that City operated what it called a “Disguised Funding Scheme”, whereby commercial income was overstated by more than £830m between 2009/10 and 2017/18.
It concluded that the sponsorship deals recorded payments at levels almost 800% higher than what actually funded the sponsors, with owner Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) providing the balance, allowing City to hide the true scale of the owners’ funding from football regulators and their auditors.
The ruling also found that City deliberately attempted to circumvent Premier League rules and made concerted efforts to obstruct and frustrate the league’s investigation.
Perhaps most damaging, after hearing from 27 witnesses in fact, the commission found that some key witnesses called on behalf of City had given evidence they knew to be untrue.
Long-term sponsors Etihad Airways have since entered the fray. The Abu Dhabi-based airline has rejected any suggestion it was involved in “improper commercial arrangements” and is taking legal advice on the impact of the ruling and subsequent reports on its reputation.
Etihad said it had not been approached or invited to testify by the Premier League, while backing City’s bid to overturn the decision.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting from within the Premier League over the penalties, with executives at several unnamed clubs arguing that punishment should follow swiftly if the findings survive appeal, which they are expected to do, with some believing that a points deduction sufficient only to relegate City for a season would not do justice to the seriousness of the offences. Instead, they want to see the club drop down the divisions.
There is less agreement on outright expulsion, as the concept of immediately kicking City out of the competition also carries significant commercial consequences for the Premier League. Any expulsion would also require the approval of 15 of the other 19 clubs.
Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, whose super team was perhaps the most affected by City’s financial warehouse, has also weighed in.
Klopp, who previously joked he would attend a Liverpool title parade if City’s honors were ever stripped, has kept a humble tone since the ruling, stressing his respect for Guardiola and the football produced by City while saying he will await the sanctions process before drawing any conclusions.
He also insisted he was “perfectly satisfied” with everything he achieved on Merseyside, a happiness that would not change for the verdict in this frankly ugly case.
Al Mubarak, meanwhile, has come under fresh scrutiny after reports revealed the City president has been holding diplomatic immunity from the UK since 2020 thanks to his role as senior UAE government official.
The status could be relevant if the consequences of the commission’s findings go beyond regulation football into civil or criminal territory, although Al Mubarak has not been personally charged with a criminal offence.
The city’s immediate priority remains its appeal, which is due by tomorrow.
Under current Premier League rules, an appeal hearing should be completed within 12 weeks, with the panel having up to 30 days to issue its decision.
The 40-page document released by the Premier League is also only the basic decision drafted. A further 37 appendices cover detailed evidence, witness assessments, sponsorship arrangements, valuations and the City’s conduct during the investigation.
The city’s Hail Mary appeal is the next big step, but this will continue over the coming weeks and months. A lengthy sanctions process is still on the menu, all while rival clubs are considering their own positions and Etihad has already opened the door to further legal action.
And with 37 annexes to the commission’s decision yet to be released, there are still many more details to come out.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)
