{
  "id": 10730265,
  "title": "Man City guilty of 'sham' contracts and misleading accounts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/man-city-guilty-of-sham-contracts-and-misleading-accounts",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-29T16:26:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/man-city-guilty-financial-breaches-160720479.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Premier League has announced that Manchester City has been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules from 2009 to 2017. An independent Commission determined that during this time, the club engaged in \"sham contracts\" with commercial partners and relied on fraudulent agreements to inflate revenue and cut costs. The majority of charges stemmed from City's lack of cooperation in the investigation. The redacted report detailed over 100 alleged individual breaches across four categories, with the club found guilty of all charges except one related to non-cooperation. Richard Masters, the Premier League's chief executive, stated that the core decision establishes the facts of Manchester City's systematic rule-breaking over nearly a decade, vindicating the League's pursuit of the case. The League emphasized its responsibility to uphold the integrity of the competition and ensure fairness for all clubs and fans.",
  "summary": "The Premier League confirms that Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport",
        "title": "Man City CEO refuses to answer questions on guilty verdict",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/man-city-ceo-refuses-to-answer-questions-on-guilty-verdict",
        "published": "2026-09-29T15:05:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Post Nigeria",
        "title": "BREAKING: Premier League releases statement, confirms Man City guilty of all charges",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/breaking-premier-league-releases-statement-confirms-man-city-guilty",
        "published": "2026-09-29T16:28:34.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Handelsblatt",
        "title": "Fußball: Premier League spricht Man City in Finanz-Affäre schuldig",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/fu-ball-premier-league-spricht-man-city-in-finanz-affare-schuldig",
        "published": "2026-09-29T17:36:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "Man City must be relegated after guilty verdict, says club’s former chairman",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/man-city-must-be-relegated-after-guilty-verdict-says-clubs-former",
        "published": "2026-09-29T18:36:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Ajel English",
        "title": "Manchester City found guilty of all Premier League financial rule breaches",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/manchester-city-found-guilty-of-all-premier-league-financial-rule",
        "published": "2026-09-29T18:53:20.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}