Manchester City have been found guilty of 114 of 115 charges of breaching Premier League financial regulations, following a lengthy investigation and hearing by an independent commission. The breaches are said to have occurred over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018.
The charges include arranging 'sham' contracts with commercial partners to disguise secret funding totalling £830m. City continue to protest their innocence and have lodged an appeal against the ruling, which is the most serious allegation ever made against a club in English football history.
Comparisons with Rangers' 2012 Plight
The news has drawn comparisons with Rangers' situation in 2012, when the Scottish club were forced to work their way back up from the country's fourth tier. Former Celtic captain Paul Lambert and ex-England striker Darren Bent have both drawn parallels between the two scenarios, with Bent wanting City sent down three divisions.
However, Record Sport has outlined why direct links between the two clubs and the charges against them are not entirely comparable.
What Happened to Rangers
In February 2012, Rangers Football Club plc entered liquidation after accumulating unpaid tax debts worth £9m to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). A year earlier, the club had been purchased for £1 by businessman Craig Whyte, who bought out the 85.3 per cent controlling stake held by Sir David Murray.
Between 2001 and 2010, under Murray's stewardship, Rangers used Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) to pay over £47m in tax-free loans to players and staff as disguised remuneration. Whyte was later handed a 15-year ban from being a company director.
The club became insolvent after HMRC refused their request to exit administration via a company voluntary arrangement. Rangers' business and assets were sold to a new company, Sevco Scotland Ltd, run by Charles Green. The new club applied to replace the old Rangers in the Scottish top-flight for 2012/13, but 10 of the 12 other Premiership sides voted against the petition, with Kilmarnock abstaining.
Punishment and Key Difference
Charles Green's organisation obtained Rangers' old Scottish Football Association (SFA) licence, and Sevco was renamed The Rangers Football Club Ltd, granted entry into the Scottish Third Division for 2012/13. Rangers returned to the Premiership in 2015/16 and won the title in 2020/21 under Steven Gerrard.
Rangers oldco were fined £250,000 by a Scottish Premier League commission chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith in February 2013 over their EBT dealings. Crucially, the report ruled they had "not gained an unfair competitive advantage," so Rangers were not stripped of their previous titles.
While City face potential demotion to England's lower leagues, that is not technically what happened to Rangers. At the time of the failed vote, Rangers were completely insolvent, with the new company forced to start again in the fourth tier.
