Man City charges verdict

0:03Manchester City found guilty of all charges related to breaches of financial rules. The findings of the Independent Commission have finally been released and it's found they arranged sham contracts to disguise secret funding of more than£830 million. pounds. City also found guilty of all charges except one relating to non-cooperation with the investigation but there's still no word on sanctions that will come after a potential appeal and City say they will appeal and continue to deny all the charges which span a decade-long period. Their CEO faced questioning earlier tonight from Sky Sports News correspondent Rob Harris.

0:50Do you apologise to football fans? I apologise, sir. Thank you. Are you sure you can win on appeal?

1:00Is all this success, as the Premier League says, sham contracts? Is this a sham club? Are you destroying football? Thank you. Do you not have a message for football? Thank you.

1:13Welcome along to a truly seismic evening in the history of the Premier League, Manchester City and the sport of football. Chief Correspondent Carve Solicol rejoins us, has been across this throughout much of the past decades. Carve, boil it down to what the Premier League says City are guilty of.

1:30Teddy Draper:Look, this is as bad as it gets for Manchester City. The summary of the judgment we've had is absolutely damning about the way City were run over nine seasons. Some of the language is absolutely extraordinary. Basically, Manchester City's owners have been found guilty of secretly putting£830 million of funding into the club during a period in which they won three league titles. And in those three seasons in which they won the title, 2012, 2014 and 2018, they reported sponsorship income of£360 million. When in reality, according to the findings of the commission, the sponsorship income was not£360 million.

2:24Teddy Draper:It was actually£43 million. The commission found that City arranged sham contracts to artificially inflate the club's revenue and reduce its costs. The club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances. City were significantly in breach of both the Premier League and UEFA's financial rules. and City committed multiple breaches of its duties of cooperation with the Premier League during its investigation. And City have been found guilty of breaking well over 100 of the Premier League's financial rules. That seems pretty emphatic, but City not having it. What have they had to say?

3:18Well, the city's position all along, since day one, is that we are innocent, that we have done nothing wrong.

3:27Teddy Draper:They say that this funding came from legitimate sources. They say they have evidence to prove that this commercial funding was actually from real companies and legitimate sources, and the funding was not from their owners. But obviously they presented that evidence and the evidence hasn't been accepted by this Premier League independent commission. It's worth pointing out here as well that this is not the first time that City have been found guilty of breaking financial fair play rules. The first time I reported on them breaking FFP rules was back in 2014 when they came to an agreement with UEFA to pay a fine of£49 million, some of which I think was suspended.

4:17Teddy Draper:Then again, they were found guilty of breaking UEFA's rules, and they took that to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020, and they had their two-year suspension from the Champions League overturned because CAS judges decided that a lot of the charges were time-barred because UEFA has a statute of limitations. Now, the message coming from City is loud and clear. We are going to fight this all the way. The people at the top of the club are saying to the players and to the fans, we've got this. We've been here before. We will do whatever it takes to clear our name. We will have our day in the sun.

5:01Teddy Draper:We had it before when we overturned the UEFA judgment in 2020 and we will do it again. Having said all that, if you read this judgment, it is absolutely damning. And if you speak to lawyers, as we've been speaking to quite a few lawyers on air this evening live, their judgment is that they don't see a way back for City from this. In the words of one of them, City have an absolute mountain to climb. We haven't even reached the stage where we have a sanction hearing. That is a hearing at which the Premier League will argue its case over what they believe is an appropriate punishment for City. And City will argue their case and present any mitigating factors which they believe they may have.

5:53Teddy Draper:Then we will find out what the punishment is. At the same time, we know for a fact that by Friday, Manchester City will be appealing this judgment as well. but when they appeal they can't just appeal because they don't like the judgment they have to have real legal grounds to appeal they can't re-litigate the the whole case from scratch something we should stress is there's no recourse to go to the court of arbitration for sport within premier league rules is that correct absolutely not when you become a member of the premier league you sign up to their rules and in the rule book it is quite clear you can't go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

6:31Teddy Draper:But that doesn't mean that City won't explore other legal avenues. And their chief executive, Fran Soriano, in a video message that he's released this evening, makes it clear that City will explore all legal avenues. So potentially, if they stick to their word, if the appeal goes against them, which most lawyers believe will go against them, then you would expect them to go to the high court. And at the high court, they would have to argue that the whole process has been unfair, it hasn't been impartial, that there have been problems with the tribunal and the way it was set up and the people who were selected to be on it.

7:15Teddy Draper:I think from City's perspective, this could run and run because they're not ready to throw in the towel yet. We referenced that from Farron Soriano and we have got that comment as well. No public comment from Soriano, but Sky Sports News has obtained a video address he sent to staff at Manchester City. As Carvey says in that, insisting they will continue to fight to clear their name. He says the case is based on, quote, a single false accusation. And he's accused the Premier League of having a conspiracy theory against him. Let's see that address now. I want to share some information related to the ongoing disciplinary process between Manchester City and the Premier League.

7:54A document has been made public with an opinion of the Premier League Commission that is negative to our interest. I want to explain exactly what this is, the next steps, and how are we going to continue to defend the club and finally be vindicated in this process. This has gone for so long that it's important to remind ourselves that the whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation. That the owner's personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi. This is just not true. So, irrefutable evidence has been provided to the Premier League Commission that shows that it could not happen and that it did not happen.

8:53This includes bank statements, money transfers, witnesses, and everything necessary to categorically demonstrate the money did not come from the owner. Every other false charge that has been thrown at us and aggressively marketed and promoted comes from that simple, central and completely false accusation. Surprisingly for us and for our lawyers, after nearly two years, the Premier League Commission has issued an opinion that supports the Premier League's conspiracy theory. To do so, the opinion had to actually ignore the extensive evidence provided by the club in order to reach a conclusion that is clearly wrong.

9:44Our lawyers will now file an appeal that sets out that the opinion contains clear material errors of law, principle, and fact, and it is unsafe. Remember, we have been here before. In 2020, we were also wrongly ruled against for many of the same issues. We appealed to an independent body in CAS and we won. we will now be relentless in our work. We will focus on the independent appeal process and also all other legal avenues available to us in order to win the case. And we will take all necessary action to protect the club and seek compensation from any party that tries to damage it. Now and in the future.

10:43Very soon, we will look back at this and recognise as another time in our history when we dealt with adversity and overcame together. Thank you. So, Farron Soriano, defiant, confident. Kave, what do you make of that?

11:01Teddy Draper:I mean, I get the sense that Mr Soriano has got his back to the wall. He wants to come out fighting and he's looking around to see who is going to be fighting alongside him. Interesting to see what the reaction of City fans will be when they read this judgment. How many City fans are now going to be saying Mr Soriano is our leader. We believe him. We agree with him that this is all a big conspiracy. This is not even a judgment. It is just an opinion. and we will get this overturned. I'm not sure how many City fans are going to go along with him or are City fans going to read the judgment and go, you know what, we did break the rules.

11:48Teddy Draper:Let's take the punishment, whatever it is. We support City through thick and thin. Whatever division we're in, we're still going to go and support the team. We need to draw a line under this. Fighting talk from Mr Soriano, but I don't know if his fighting talk will survive contact with reality. Well, they appeal to be lodged by Friday. We'll see what happens with the result there and then possible sanctioning hearing to come. With that sanction, people might be tuning in now and saying this is unprecedented. They haven't heard this as football fans. Scratching around for context for President Portsmouth, nine points March 2010.

12:26That was entering administration, failing to play players. Everton, 2023, six points reduced from 10. Forrest four points in March 2024 but you pointed out to me that Chelsea as well significantly didn't get any points deduction what can we draw from any of those cases?

12:43Teddy Draper:Well the Chelsea case was a bit different from the others because the Chelsea case was rules that had been broken under the previous ownership when Roman Abramovich owned the club and when the new owners bought the club they went through the books there were some discrepancies they self-reported the the discrepancies to the FA, the Premier League, and also to UEFA. And when it came to their Premier League case, they were fined by the Premier League. They didn't get a points deduction. I think they got a suspended transfer ban as well, but no points deduction. And one of the reasons is because they cooperated fully with the Premier League investigation and also they self-reported the discrepancies.

13:27Teddy Draper:Obviously, that has not happened in this case. Now, this, I think, is a case where City will get a very, very serious punishment. And the reason I say that is because they've been found guilty of breaking well over 100 of the Premier League's rules. And as a rule of thumb, for instance, if you're an Everton fan or a Nottingham Forest fan, you remember that a couple of seasons ago, when you were found guilty of one charge of breaking the financial rules, you got you ended up getting a four point deduction in Forrest's case I think a six point deduction in Everton's case so as a rule of thumb if you get a four point deduction for breaking one rule you don't need a calculator to work out that if you break over 100 rules you are going to get a massive points deduction at the very least although you could also get a big fine there are other sporting sanctions, and you could even be expelled from the Premier League.

14:29What about the club now? How do they approach it? Because we've got, what, two and a half weeks till they go to Anfield to face Liverpool. What will Enzo Maresca and the players be feeling? Some of the players playing for England as they...

14:40Teddy Draper:Look, they will be shell-shocked. I'm sure when we hear from them and when we speak to them in the build-up to their next Premier League game, they will put a brave face on it. I'm pretty sure Enzo Maresca will say, this is in the hands of the lawyers. I'm here to coach the team. We're going to focus on football. I'm sure the chairman and the chief executive at the club will also speak to the players and say to them, you deal with issues on the pitch. We will deal with everything else. Trust us. We are 100 % convinced that we are going to be cleared. You have to leave it to us. But you have to think what kind of effect is this going to have on the players?

15:24Teddy Draper:Because the players are human. They've got families. They've got agents, representatives they'll be talking to. They'll be thinking about their futures. They will be worried about what the punishment will be. Which division will they be playing in next season? Will they still be Manchester City players going forward? We've seen in the past, for instance, when Juventus were relegated in that big, big Calciapoli scandal in Italy. Some of the players left. I'm not saying that's what's going to happen at Manchester City. But potentially, you could see a totally different City team in the future if they do get a massive points deduction and if they are thrown out of the Premier League.

16:07Teddy Draper:I'm slightly getting ahead of myself, but when you read what was released this evening by the Premier League, you will see that unless City somehow win an appeal or somehow win a case at the high court and emerge from all this victorious, unless that happens, you have to worry that Manchester City are not going to be a Premier League club next season. Biggest story you've covered? I think it is the biggest story of this kind. But one thing I would say is that, remember, this is not City's first rodeo when it comes to breaking financial fair play rules. The first time they broke financial fair play rules was back in 2014 and they were fined by UEFA.

17:00Teddy Draper:And I think the UEFA General Secretary at the time was Johnny Infantino, who, of course, is now the FIFA president. It feels a little bit strange being able to talk about all these issues because in the past, other journalists more than me, because they've covered this story probably in more depth than I have. Everyone has had to be very, very careful what they say about Manchester City and what they say about the 1-1-5 charges and what they say about the UEFA cases. cases because obviously Manchester City have been very very aggressive in defending their interests and fighting their corner. Me personally I've had quite a lot of you know heat and abuse from City fans because they think I've got some kind of agenda against Manchester City or I hate Manchester City.

17:49Teddy Draper:Nothing could be further from the truth. All I've done is as a sports news reporter report sports news to the best of my ability. plenty more reaction to the huge breaking news this evening as the Premier League comes down hard on one of its champions.

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18:55Welcome back to Sky Sports News on the day. Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules by an independent commission. Manchester City continue to deny any wrongdoing and have confirmed they will appeal against the ruling. That ruling has to be submitted by Friday. Jamie Jackson is the Manchester football correspondent for The Guardian and has given his thoughts. Very, very damning, I have to say. And what interested me was two points maybe everyone's picked out. First of all, the£900 million by which they have been proved, yes, proved to have inflated dealings, let's say, commercial operations.

19:39And also their use of the word opinion. In their statement, Manchester City, coming back on the back of the Premier League statement of the findings, their statement talks about opinion. Well, as I understand it, this was a case brought by QCs, KCs on either side to do with fact, yes? not opinion, fact, because otherwise, you know, there's such a high bar to prove these things. And because there's such a high bar to prove these things, it then means it's a very, very high bar to disprove them all. Now, Manchester City, I think I've got two avenues here. The Lever question the veracity, the credibility, if you like, of the Free Person Independent Commission and or, I suppose, the nuclear option, if they lose the appeal, is go to the High Court.

20:16But what High Court means is full discovery again. And, you know, listen, Manchester City have got a right to appeal and if they do win the appeal, then we have a different conversation. But as we sort of sit here now or stand here now, this is a very, very serious situation. And what's interesting as well is in the sort of space of what we know, three or four days since Friday when the news broke, up until today, until this statement, a lot of Manchester City fans I'm speaking to, hearing from, were sort of sticking up for their club, fair enough, but now it's starting to turn a little bit. Now they're starting to look at the hierarchy, yeah, the people in charge who've carried out these things.

20:50You know, the chairman, the chief executive, you know, all the high-ranking executives started to say, well, come on now, what's going on here? So you sense that the fans are turning, do you? It's not the exact signs. There's certainly more of a constituency I am hearing from now, 100 % yes. Well, there will be an appeal. It looks like that's going to happen. If they lose that appeal, what sanctions do you fear? Or rather, what sanctions do you think would be appropriate? Well, I mean, if you look at the scale of the wrongdoing here, I mean listen everyone's got an opinion and I'm not a legal expert but you have to really hit Manchester City or actually you know the people who carry this out because it's not the actual football club the fans let me get that clear you have to hit the club so hard that no one ever dares try and do this again so I would suggest some sort of relegation or some sort of mechanism by which they have to start again in non-league maybe and work their way back up because it's a very serious matter this I mean as I said this£900 million figure is mind-blowing and you know but we're still now three or four days later still trying to get to grits with the ramifications of, you know, clubs that might have won this or players that have had their livelihood maybe taken away because of this reason, et cetera, et cetera.

21:58So this is pretty serious and I think it takes, you know, to answer your question in another way, I think it needs a really forensic examination before any sanctions are brought. Now, before the Premier League statement, ESPN reported earlier in the day that Manchester City were told the outcome of the hearing in July. Mark Ogden believes it is then fair that they spent £450 million in the summer as they may not get a chance to spend again in a long time. It's an almighty show of strength by the Premier League and I think it surprises us all. And I don't think any of us really expect it to go this way.

22:29And I think a lot of us over the years, myself included, have accused the Premier League of not being strong enough to deal with this sort of situation and taking so much time. But they've dealt with it. So they've sent an incredible message to any club in the future that may try to do what City have been found guilty of doing. Don't do it. But they're not holding back with the wording, which tells me that this has got a long way to go yet in terms of what Man City, they want to appeal. But in terms of when we get to the sanctions, the ferocity of the language in that statement suggests that all options are on the table and will be considered.

23:01Footballers want money and they want trophies. And the City, in recent years, have been able to offer both in abundance. The moment that stops is the moment the big players won't want to be there. It's not them that you have to really think about. The people that you have to think about are the cleaning staff, the catering staff, the people who depend on Man City for their livelihood. and that will be affected by what happened with the Premier League hearing if it goes against them because it won't be the footballers that lose their jobs, it will be the people that need the jobs for their day-to-day lives.

23:29Rob Dawson, my colleague in Manchester, wrote earlier today that City actually found out that they were told of the outcome in July. So prior to the closure of the transfer window, with two months of the window to go. So apparently the Elliot Anderson deal was in place before City found out but obviously subsequent signs have happened and they spent£450 million in the summer now. To be honest, I think this process hasn't been exhausted yet. There is an appeal, so I don't think it would be fair to say that City can't spend money. Until they're proven guilty at the end of the process, then they should be allowed to go about their business because let's consider the scenario whereby if the Premier League say you've been found guilty, you're not going to buy any players for this year or next year and they ultimately win their appeal, then City would be within their rights to take legal action against the Premier League for not allowing them to buy players.

24:17So they have to be allowed to be viewed as innocent until the process exhausts itself. So, yeah, that's why I think they were able to spend so much money this summer. And you can understand it because they may not have the chance to spend money again for quite a long time if the guilty verdict is upheld about buying an appeal. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes the extent of the charges that City have been found guilty of means that a heavy punishment is likely. It's certainly unprecedented as far as Premier League history is concerned. We have had clubs get into financial difficulties, but they tend to be self-inflicted.

24:49This is, as Richard Masters has said, it's a systematic attempt to deceive the Premier League, to deceive the auditors, ultimately to deceive the employees of the club and the fans as to how the club has been acting on a day-to-day basis through its finances. and I'm looking at numbers here a 900 million pound advantage over a nine-year period the average revenue for a big six club during that period of time was 2.9 million pounds so 2.9 billion so Manchester City have had a one pound in three advantage now that's huge when it comes to wages when it comes to transfer fees when it comes to negotiating new contracts as well And that calls into question the decency and the integrity of everything that they've achieved during that period of time.

25:41In the first year of acquisition by Shake Mansoor, Manchester City's commercial revenue was£23 million. By 2018, it had increased to 232. That was spectacular. There was a lot of queries at the time, but there was no evidence of this concerted effort to disguise the numbers. And now, as a result of the hack and as a result of the evidence which has been presented, Manchester City were clearly falsifying the figures. If you take a look, I think, at the Everton case, they were given six points for a£20 million overstatement as far as their PSR calculations are concerned. We don't know by how much Manchester City have breached PSR.