Manchester City have been found guilty by the independent commission following their legal battle with the Premier League over 115 charges. The Premier League's statement condemning the club is so damning that there appears to be no way back for the current ownership, according to Mirror Football's Chief Football Writer John Cross.
The most telling words in the Premier League's statement are: “The £900m sham.” The statement was not just damning – it absolutely torched Manchester City. The sheer scale of sham contracts, false accounting, cover-ups, lying witnesses and deception is mind-blowing, described as fraud on an industrial scale.
Document details 'sham' contracts and concealed finances
The 40-page document spelling out the verdict, the case and the evidence which brought the 115 charges is an astonishing read in itself. It attacks Project Longbow and even attacks the ownership and Abu Dhabi state-owned companies and sponsorship. State ownership is now allowed, so this part could have wider ramifications.
The statement talks about “sham” contracts and “sham” agreements with others to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs. The club filed misstated accounts and “concealed” the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators. It says “Manchester City was significantly in breach of both the Premier League's and UEFA's spending limits” before saying the club misled the investigation.
Appeal deadline and possible punishments
City have until Friday to appeal, and then an appeal board will be set up to resolve the case “as soon as possible.” Their defiant counter statement, which says the club is still in denial, makes it clear they will appeal. The Premier League has given City just days to appeal, a turbo-charged pace compared to the slow process they have been accused of.
The case could bring down City as a football club as we know it, its owners and the language used makes it feel impossible for them to continue in the Premier League under this ownership. City have to be relegated, with a points deduction and a severe punishment to ensure this goes just one season on the naughty step. Nine years of deception from 2009 to 2018 means the punishment has to reflect that.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: “It also vindicates the Premier League's decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently.”
Cross, who previously was not in favor of stripping titles, said this verdict and the document and detail have changed his mind. He wrote: “It goes beyond titles having an asterisk. They are now worthless.”
