{
  "id": 10731924,
  "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-10731924",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-29T16:36:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC News",
    "slug": "bbc-news",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c63reg93xwzro?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Premier League has ruled that Manchester City engaged in fraudulent contracts and presented misleading financial statements from 2009 to 2018. According to an independent commission, the club created fake contracts with commercial partners and used sham agreements to inflate revenue and lower costs. While the commission found the club guilty of most charges, it did not find City guilty of one charge related to cooperation with the investigation. The alleged scheme was described as an £830.69m attempt to disguise funding. The Premier League's chief executive, Richard Masters, emphasized that the club systematically violated league rules for nearly a decade. City expressed surprise and disappointment at the commission's findings, claiming they are innocent and possess substantial evidence to support their positions. The Premier League's investigation is ongoing, and Manchester City plans to appeal the decision, arguing that it contains significant legal and factual errors.",
  "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": 7,
    "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": "Yahoo Sports",
        "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",
        "published": "2026-09-29T16:26:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "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."
}