Premier League finds Man City guilty on all charges of serious financial breaches

Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, the league announced on Tuesday, Euronews reports. An independent commission found the club arranged “sham contracts” with commercial partners to “artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs.” The league said the schemes inflated City’s revenues and reduced its costs by more than £900 million over the period.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters called the case “the most significant in Premier League history” but said elements, including sanctions, were yet to be resolved. The league added that City had also been found guilty on the majority of charges relating to its failure to cooperate with the investigation.

City said on Tuesday it was “disappointed and surprised” and “innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League.” The club has until 2 October to lodge an appeal, which it has said it will do.