FOUL PLAY: Manchester City’s ‘sham’ deals leave Premier League in uncharted territory
The scale of Manchester City’s financial chicanery, which has been called a “sham”, was laid bare by the English Premier League and has thrown the game into an unprecedented crisis.
The scale of Manchester City's financial wrongdoing, labeled a "sham" by the English Premier League, has brought unprecedented turmoil to the sport. An independent commission's findings, published on September 29, revealed how the club deceived auditors and regulators from 2009 to 2018. The league's chief executive, Richard Masters, stated that the commission exposed Manchester City's systematic breach of Premier League rules over nearly a decade.
The investigation found that City arranged "sham" contracts, artificially inflated revenue by £830 million (£18 billion) and reduced costs by £400 million (£8.6 billion) through false evidence and obstructive efforts. The sponsors, required to pay only a portion of the fees, received a significant portion of the funds (roughly £18 billion) from ADUG, disguised as sponsorships.
The club's response was to defend itself and vow to appeal, while the league's sanctions remain unclear. The commission's broad discretion allows for penalties ranging from unlimited fines and points deductions to expulsion from the league. Previous cases against Everton and Nottingham Forest resulted in 10-point deductions and four-point penalties, respectively.
Manchester City's case, however, is significantly more severe, with the commission finding more than £900 million of revenue inflated and costs reduced over nine seasons.
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