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Manchester City have until Friday, October 2, to appeal the independent Commission’s findings that the club committed serious breaches of Premier League financial rules.
The Premier League formally confirmed the deadline on Tuesday, following the publication of the Commission’s findings in the long-running case involving 115 charges against the English champions.
According to the League, the Commission found City guilty of all the charges relating to serious financial breaches during the nine-season period from 2009-10 to 2017-18.
The Commission also found the club guilty of three of four alleged breaches relating to its failure to co-operate with the Premier League’s investigation.
The Premier League said the Commission found that City had arranged “sham” contracts with several commercial partners and used other “sham” agreements to artificially increase revenue and reduce costs.
The findings stated that the arrangements artificially inflated City’s revenues and reduced costs by more than £900 million during the period under review.
According to the Commission, the conduct resulted in misstated accounts and concealed aspects of the club’s finances from auditors and football regulators.
The Commission also found that City had significantly breached both Premier League and UEFA spending limits during the period.
On the club’s conduct during the investigation, the Premier League said the Commission concluded that City had “made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the PL investigation”, which lasted four years.
However, no punishment has been announced yet.
The Premier League said the question of sanctions would be considered separately at another hearing before the independent Commission. The hearing will remain private and confidential until the outcome can be published.
City have the right to appeal the findings and must formally exercise that right by October 2.
The League said the Commission’s findings were published in a redacted Core Decision after the Commission ruled, and the Appeal Board confirmed, that the decision constituted a “final award”.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the case as the most significant disciplinary matter in the competition’s history.
“This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history,” Masters said.
“There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches.”
The Premier League said its Board wants the remaining process, including any appeals and the publication of relevant decisions, completed as soon as possible.
The October 2 deadline now puts City at the next major stage of a case that has taken years to reach a formal decision, with the eventual sanctions still to be determined.
