Pollemic thickens. Premier League considers City guilty of the charges

Ait's really official. The Premier League (PL) issued, during the afternoon of Tuesday, a note, through its official platforms, in which it confirmed that Manchester City is found guilty of all 115 accusations that are related to serious violations of financial rules during a period of nine sports seasons.

“ An independent committee found the Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious violations of Premier League financial rules over a period of nine seasons, as well as most of the charges related to its lack of cooperation in the League’s investigation”, can be read in the English League statement.

In the note, the reasons for this decision are specified: “Man Manchester City has concluded ‘fictitious’ contracts (which distort the true agreement between the parties) with several of its trading partners, and is based on ‘fictitious’ agreements with other entities, to artificially inflate the club’s revenue and reduce its costs”; “The club presented accounts with incorrect information and concealed the real financial situation to its auditors and football regulators”; “Manchester City significantly violated the spending limits of both the Premier League and UEFA”; “During the Premier League investigation, Manchester City committed multiple violations of its duties of cooperation and maximum good faith towards the League (three of the four alleged violations were confirmed).”.

“ Consequently, Manchester City has not accurately communicated its revenue and expenditure for the purposes of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules and the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Clean Game Rules. The Commission concluded that if all the relevant agreements had been communicated accurately in the club’s accounts, it would have breached the spending limits of both the League and UEFA to a very substantial amount,” the note further explains.

“ In addition, during the four-year investigation conducted by the Premier League, the club committed multiple violations of its duties of cooperation and maximum good faith with the League. The Commission concluded that the club had made concerted efforts to prevent and thwart PL’s investigation”, the statement concludes.

Quoted in this statement, Richard Masters, CEO of the Premier League, classified the decision as historical: “The decision sets out the facts about what happened in Manchester City during this period. Detailed how the club systematically violated Premier League rules for nearly a decade.”

Manchester City now has until Friday, October 2, to appeal the decision. The case will now be examined at a new independent Commission hearing.

Manchester City says he's innocent

Instants after this Premier League note was revealed, Manchester City said it was “disappointed and surprised” with this decision, promising that it will proceed with the mechanisms it has at its disposal to resort to punishment.

“The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and there is a comprehensive set of irrefutable evidence that supports all their positions regarding this case. Therefore, the club will be relentless and, whenever necessary, proactive, in any and any appropriate regulatory and legal forums”, guarantee the citizens.

“The Premier League process is still ongoing, with significant elements yet to be completed. The Manchester City FC will now make use of the remedies at its disposal, on the grounds that the opinion contains obvious material errors, both in law and in principle and in fact, and is unreliable. The club diligently respected the due legal process for eight years, assuming that the Board of Directors and the Executive Board of the Premier League would act as an independent, impartial and fair regulator, free from party influences”, continues the note.

“The club is, of course, limited in what it can say until all future procedures are completed,” the statement concludes

[News updated at 5:47 p.m.]