Man City guilty of 'sham' contracts and misleading accounts

Manchester City have been found guilty on all charges in a long-running Premier League investigation into breaches of financial rules spanning the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons, according to the Premier League.

An independent commission concluded that the club used what it called "sham contracts" with several commercial partners to conceal more than £830m in funding that should have been disclosed, the Premier League said. The findings were confirmed on Tuesday when the League published a redacted version of the commission's report, days after reports first surfaced that City had lost on the majority of the 115 charges brought against them.

The commission examined more than 100 alleged individual breaches split across four broad categories of charges, according to the Premier League. City were cleared of only one charge, which related to failing to cooperate fully with the League's investigation. The panel also found that several senior club witnesses had given false testimony, with some described as knowingly dishonest.

Investigators said the disputed sponsorship arrangements formed part of a wider scheme to disguise funding worth roughly £830.69m. Of the £360m in sponsorship income City booked during the three Premier League title-winning campaigns of 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2017-18, only about £43m was found to be genuine, with the remainder traced back to the club's owners rather than independent sponsors. The commission said the sponsorship deals in question were either shams or failed to reflect their true financial substance.

The report further stated that City's conduct was deliberate or reckless and designed to get around Premier League regulations, allowing the club to avoid reporting what would otherwise have been the biggest single-season loss in the competition's history during 2009-10, according to the findings. The scale of material reviewed was substantial, with the case index running beyond 750 pages and supporting documents stretching into tens of thousands of pages.

City have been owned since 2008 by the Abu Dhabi United Group, referred to in the commission's report by the abbreviation ADUG.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the ruling confirms what took place at the club and shows rules were broken systematically over nearly ten years. He said the decision justified the League's pursuit of the case and stressed the importance of enforcing rules that clubs themselves had approved, in order to protect fair competition.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy described the report as "incredibly stark" and said it had caused significant concern among City supporters and football fans generally, according to the BBC.

Former City chairman David Bernstein said the Premier League's credibility was now at stake, calling the findings "damning beyond belief" and suggesting some issues raised could warrant scrutiny beyond football's own governance. He argued that financial penalties alone would not be sufficient given the wealth of the club's ownership, and said City should face a serious sporting sanction if an appeal fails.

Manchester City said in a statement that it was "disappointed and surprised" by the commission's findings, maintaining it is innocent and possesses extensive evidence supporting its position. The club said it intends to pursue all available legal and regulatory appeal routes, arguing the ruling contains material errors of law, principle and fact. City have until 2 October to lodge a formal appeal.

Chief executive Ferran Soriano declined to answer questions on the verdict but later told staff in a video message that the club had been targeted by what he called a "Premier League conspiracy theory" and would ultimately be vindicated.

The Premier League said any sanction against City would be determined separately at a further hearing before the independent commission, which under League rules must remain private.