Man City accused of breaching Premier League financial rules

LONDON — Manchester City were accused by the Premier League on Monday of breaching a series of financial rules from 2009 to 2018, during which the club became a force in English and European football after it was taken over by the Abu ruling family. Dubai.

The league has released a lengthy statement detailing a list of alleged regulatory breaches by City after a four-year investigation, covering a period when the team won three Premier League titles – in 2012, 2014 and 2018.

Reigning league champions City are accused of failing to provide “accurate financial information which gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position” between 2009 and 2018 or to give “full details of the remuneration of managers in his relevant contracts” from 2009-13. Roberto Mancini was manager during this period.

Other alleged breaches include failure to comply with UEFA regulations from 2013 to 2018, Premier League profitability and sustainability rules from 2015 to 2018 and participation in the league’s December 2018 investigation nowadays.

The league said it had referred the violations to an independent commission ahead of a confidential hearing.

The city did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

The city could be severely punished. The Premier League regulations give a disciplinary committee the power to impose a range of penalties as well as the wider scope of “any other penalties it deems appropriate”.

A big fine seems inevitable if the charges are proven. Also at stake is a point deduction, vacated title or even ejection from the league, depending on league rules.

While City were under investigation by the Premier League, the club had a two-year ban from European club competitions overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020 after UEFA ruled that City had committed ” serious violations” of the financial fair play rules from 2012 to 2016. .

City were not fully cleared of any wrongdoing, although the court said some of the allegations were unproven or could not be tried due to a statute of limitations in UEFA rules.

The court also fined City 10 million euros (then $11.3 million) for failing to cooperate with investigators. The club’s ‘blatant disregard’ must be ‘strongly condemned’, the court judges said.

City have become a powerhouse in English football in the decade since they were taken over by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and member of the Abu Dhabi royal family.

Under its Abu Dhabi ownership, City – which previously lived in the shadow of neighbor Manchester United – won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and six English League Cups.

It was the most successful period in the club’s 143-year history.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports