EPL: Man City Respond To Premier League Guilty Verdict, Reveal Next Action

Manchester City have expressed disappointment and astonishment following a statement by the Premier League confirming that the club has been found culpable of charges relating to significant violations of financial regulations.

According to the Premier League statement, the club was found to have orchestrated “fraudulent” sponsorship arrangements, submitted inaccurate financial statements and breached expenditure constraints, allegedly enhancing its financial revenues and reducing its expenditures by more than £900 million during the relevant period.

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The club was also found to have committed multiple infractions relating to its obligations to cooperate with and maintain transparency during the Premier League’s prolonged investigation.

A censored version of the commission’s assessment published on the Premier League’s official website confirmed that Manchester City was found culpable of all charges except one relating to insufficient cooperation with the Premier League’s investigative procedures.

The club has until Friday to lodge an appeal and has responded to the findings, maintaining that it is not guilty.

Manchester City said: “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 uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.

“The Club have conscientiously adhered to procedural fairness throughout an eight-year duration based on the expectation that the Premier League Board and Administration would function as an autonomous, neutral, and equitable regulatory authority, insulated from biased considerations.

“The Club are naturally constrained in their capacity to communicate further until all forthcoming legal proceedings conclude,” it said.

The Premier League maintains that there are no predetermined consequences for financial regulation violations. As a result, Manchester City could face a points deduction, a financial penalty or potentially relegation from the Premier League.