Manchester City Guilty of Financial Breaches Charges Golden Threads

[Best]

Manchester City will claim that key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government, rather than the club's owners, as part of their appeal.

Club owners Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) - a private investment company belonging to United Arab Emirates vice-president and deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour - was said to have topped up the value of commercial deals as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to the scale of £830.69m.

This, it was argued, enabled the club to appear to comply with Premier League and UEFA financial rules.

However, City are expected to tell an appeal board that they have evidence showing the money directed to sponsors came from the Abu Dhabi government, rather than from ADUG.

The independent commission rejected this argument as "untrue" in its findings, saying: "We concluded that it was an 'explanation' that the club had concocted well after the event in an attempt to obscure and conceal the realities of the disguised funding scheme."

City has claimed the commission's decision contained "clear material errors of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe".

Mansour is a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, and the brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. ADUG took over City in 2008. Premier League rules allow state-owned bodies to sponsor clubs.

 

[Legion]

The hacker who leaked the original documents/emails

 https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2105689948817101206

 

[Boot Cleaner]

Manchester City have lodged their appeal against the verdict delivered by the independent regulatory commission which found them guilty of almost all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.

A new panel will be convened by the Premier League's judicial panel but the rules state that an appeal can only review the decision and not hold a full rehearing of the case.

The hearing must take place within twelve weeks of the appeal being lodged and a decision must be delivered within 30 days of the hearing's conclusion.

 

[Bob the Ninja]

Hadn't realised this Rui Pinto guy got the emails from City (that led to all this evidence) by sending a phishing link to City disguised as a UEFA financial compliance report

I wonder what his announcement is today. More City related stuff?

 

[Bob the Ninja]

Whatever you think of it/them, The Overlap is a great watch this week. Ornstein (who broke the story) and Paul Gilroy (legal expert) have really interesting insight. Gilroy is confident players could be legally allowed to rip up their contracts!

 

[BlackEyed Pete]

Manchester City have confirmed they have lodged an appeal after an independent commission found the club guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations.

In a short statement, the club said the commission's ruling contained "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe". City also said it had filed "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence [that] exists in support of all of its positions" on Thursday evening.

The Football Association said earlier on Friday that the verdict against City has "significant implications for the integrity of the game". It said it was "carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate".

The FA added: "As proceedings between the Premier League and Manchester City Football Club remain ongoing, we do not intend to comment further at this stage." It said it would "continue to monitor developments closely".

City were found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

City were expected to claim key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government, rather than the club's owners, as part of the appeal.

However, the club's case may be affected by statements made by Etihad Airways to the United States government in 2015. During an investigation into state-owned airlines, Etihad said: "The assertion that the Abu Dhabi government paid for Etihad's sponsorship of English Premier League football club Manchester City is false. In 2011, Etihad and Manchester City entered into a 10-year sponsorship agreement, which included naming rights for Manchester City's stadium. Etihad funded this sponsorship from its own liquidity."

Etihad later said: "We are and have always been clear that we do not receive any subsidies from the Abu Dhabi government."

The independent panel found City arranged "sham contracts" with several commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than £830m. The Premier League says City "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade".

The findings have prompted the Treasury Committee to ask whether HMRC has requested the redacted documents contained within the commission's report. Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the cross-party group of MPs, said she would "welcome reassurance from HMRC that you are seized of the importance of these issues and the public interest in this case".

The letter follows a report from the Tax Policy Associates which claims City failed to pay as much as £12m in unpaid tax because of a "sham" contract with former manager Roberto Mancini. The report claims City could face a penalty charge that would take their liabilities to £24m.

The Business, Innovation, Science and Trade committee has also called for stronger action on corporate accounting in a letter to the government and the Financial Reporting Council. Committee chair Liam Byrne said the findings suggested a "serious failure of security" and that "clubs complying with the rules need confidence that those rules are enforced fairly".

Separately, it has emerged that City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak met with business secretary Jonathan Reynolds days before the club's guilty verdicts were announced. Reports suggest the club was not mentioned and that Al Mubarak was visiting in his capacity as CEO of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. It is understood the pair's discussions focused on the UK's relationship with the UAE, including defence, security, intelligence and trade.

UK government sources said it is "totally normal" for the business secretary to have these sorts of meetings. The encounter was first reported by Bloomberg.

 

[Franco Pinion]

I think City should put their hands up and take their punishment, it is the only way to get your respect back when you have wronged.

 

[Scotty G]

Money has ruined football. The prices of bang average players in the Premier League is ridiculous. The whole system needs scrutinised.

I've no doubt City are guilty but they aren't the only club with questionable finances.

It always amazes me that Man United can be £1bn in debt but still spend well over £100m in the transfer market most windows yet nothing is said and there is never any questions about sanctions?

And, in Europe, you just have to look at clubs like Barcelona to see how messed up football is.

 

[Tom]

It will be very interesting to see if any players have relegation clauses if they are actually relegated

 

[Scotty G]

I miss the days when there wasn't a lot of money in football, 3 o'clock kick offs, terraces and you didn't really talk about players wages etc, but then again I'm an old git.