The club made a “comprehensive” appeal on Friday following the publication of a report by an independent commission detailing the Premier League giants’ widespread financial misconduct in one of English football’s biggest scandals.
“The club’s firm position,” read a brief statement from City, “is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact and is dangerous.”
City have protested their innocence in the long-running case, which runs until 2018 and reached a milestone on Tuesday after the Premier League published a verdict finding the club “guilty of serious breaches” of the competition’s financial rules from 2009-18 between 2009 and 2018.
The city has not yet been fined. According to the Premier League, potential sanctions include reprimands, fines, points deductions or, in the worst case scenario, suspension. No team has been relegated from the top flight of English football.
City officials said they would file an appeal, which was filed Thursday evening, the club said before Friday’s deadline.
“The club is innocent of the allegations made by the Premier League and there is a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence to support all of its positions in this case,” City said, using earlier statements on the case.
The Premier League said in a statement that City had “appealed against the commission’s decision” and that the appeal hearing would “remain private and confidential pending publication of the outcome”.
The appeal must be completed within 12 weeks
Premier League regulations state that the chairman of the three-man investigation panel found against City must appoint a new appeals board. It will also consist of three people, one of whom “shall be on court duty,” league rules state.
The appeal hearing must be held within 12 weeks of the date of the appeal and cannot exceed five consecutive days.
“The appeals board has broad discretion in the appeal,” the league said, “and may allow, deny, or make any other order it deems appropriate.”
Any penalties in the case will be discussed at a separate, confidential hearing conducted by the investigative team. No word on whether sanctions will be imposed pending a decision on the appeal.
The Premier League said only that its intention was for the process to be completed “as quickly as possible”.
City’s $1 billion breach used ‘bogus’ commercial deals
In what competition chief executive Richard Masters described as the most significant disciplinary case in the league’s history, City were found to have systematically breached the Premier League’s financial rules over almost a decade.
The investigative team found that City had artificially boosted its revenue by more than US$1 billion from 2009-18 by using the league’s “fraudulent” commercial deals to circumvent Financial Fair Play rules that restrict rival clubs and allow City to buy the world’s best players.
It was the foundation of a long and unprecedented period of success that saw the North West club win eight league titles between 2012-24 and change the landscape of the city’s most popular football league in the world.
The city committed almost all of the more than 115 violations, the commission found: 80 for financial irregularities from 2009-18 and another 35 for failing to cooperate with the investigation from 2018-23.
The source of sponsorship may be the focus of the application
City are likely to center part of their appeal around how their sponsorship deals in Abu Dhabi are funded.
The commission found that sponsors in Abu Dhabi paid only £119.25 million ($158.4 million) of the £949.94 million ($1.26 billion) recorded in the club’s accounts, while the remaining £830.69 million ($1.1 billion) went to Naugh Bin-Bin, a private company of Abu Dhabi United Group Al-Zaugh-Bin-Sheikh. Bin-Bin-Bin-Bin-Bin-Bin-Bin-Dabi found that it was paid. In 2008.
Sheikh Mansour is a member of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates.
City claimed that “no part” of the deals were funded by ADUG and instead that the Abu Dhabi government, which owns the sponsors, helped finance the deals “from time to time”. And so, in the City’s view, the additional funding source was misunderstood, the commission wrote.
The panel rejected City’s explanation as untrue, concluding that it was “well made up after the fact” to hide the source of the funding.
In an internal video to City management obtained by Sky News, City chief executive Ferran Soriano said: “The entire Premier League case against us is based on one false allegation: that the owner’s personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club through some sponsors from Abu Dhabi. This is simply not true.”
On Friday, the Football Association, soccer’s governing body in England, expressed concern that the scandal was affecting the “integrity” of the game.
In its first reaction to the case, the FA said: “The independent commission’s decision has significant implications for the integrity of the game. We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate.”
The FA added that it would “continue to monitor developments closely” and would not comment further as proceedings continue.
Prime Minister Burnham clarifies the comments
The City case is currently a football disciplinary matter, not a criminal investigation. On Thursday, a cross-party committee of lawmakers called on Britain’s tax authority to scrutinize the independent panel’s findings if they demand a closer look into any tax implications.
Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury Committee, wrote to the permanent secretary of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), saying: “While I acknowledge that taxpayer confidentiality may prevent you from being able to disclose, I welcome the assurance from HMRC that you are seized of the importance and public interest of this case.”
In another example of the wider impact of the City scandal, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been repeatedly asked for his views on the matter.
On Wednesday, Burnham said City would be “really worried” to lose their Abu Dhabi ownership to English football, saying they were a big partner in “building modern Manchester” and City as a global power, but said he was not involved in the process.
Burnham was previously mayor of Manchester.
On Thursday, Downing Street sought to clarify that the prime minister considered the decision “serious” and that there could be no suggestion that anyone was above the rules.
Burnham’s office said in a statement that “if wrongdoing is found, those responsible should face appropriate consequences.”