Soccer-Man City found guilty of all charges of financial rule breaches, Premier League confirms

Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - November 5, 2025 General view inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Phil Noble

Sept 29 (Reuters) - Manchester City ⁠have been found guilty of all charges of serious breaches ⁠of the Premier League's financial rules between the 2009/10 and ‌2017/18 seasons, the league said in a statement on Tuesday.

City were charged in February 2023 with breaches of the league's financial rules spanning nine seasons following a four-year ​investigation.

The club said in a statement it ⁠would appeal "on the basis that ⁠the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and ⁠is ‌unsafe".

An independent commission found that City "arranged ‘sham’ contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its ⁠commercial partners," the league said.

The league added that the ​commission had found ‌City used schemes “to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its ⁠costs, by ​more than £900 million during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules."

“The core decision... details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules ⁠for nearly a decade," said Richard Masters, ​the chief executive of the Premier League.

"There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for ⁠these breaches."

City, who deny any wrongdoing, said they were disappointed and surprised by the commission's opinion.

"The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence ​exists in support of all of its positions, ⁠relating to this case," the club said.

"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."

(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Purulia, IndiaEditing by Toby Davis)

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足球 - 欧洲冠军联赛 - 曼城对阵多特蒙德 - 英国曼彻斯特伊蒂哈德球场 - 2025年11月5日 赛前球场内部景象 路透社/菲尔·诺布尔

9月29日（路透社）——英超联赛周二发表声明称，曼城被判犯有在2009/10赛季至2017/18赛季期间严重违反英超联赛财务规则的所有指控。

经过四年的调查，曼城于 2023 年 2 月被指控违反了联赛的财务规则，违规行为持续了九个赛季。

俱乐部在一份声明中表示，将提起上诉，“理由是该意见存在明显的实质性错误，涉及法律、原则和事实，而且是不安全的”。

联盟表示，一个独立委员会发现，曼城“与其一些商业伙伴签订了‘虚假’合同（歪曲了双方之间的真实协议）”。

联赛方面补充说，委员会发现曼城利用各种手段“在受影响期间人为地虚增俱乐部收入，并减少成本超过 9 亿英镑，以使其看起来符合财务规定”。

英超联赛首席执行官理查德·马斯特斯表示：“核心决定……详细说明了该俱乐部近十年来如何系统性地违反英超联赛规则。”

“此案还有一些细节需要裁决，其中最重要的是，对于这些违规行为应该采取何种制裁措施。”

市政府否认有任何不当行为，并表示对委员会的意见感到失望和惊讶。

俱乐部表示：“俱乐部否认英超联赛提出的指控，并有大量无可辩驳的证据支持俱乐部就此案所持的所有立场。”

“曼城足球俱乐部现在将寻求一切可行的上诉途径，理由是该意见存在明显的法律、原则和事实方面的重大错误，并且是不安全的。”

（Chiranjit Ojha 驻印度普鲁利亚报道，Toby Davis 编辑）

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