The Premier League’s announcement that Manchester City have been found guilty of all financial charges by an independent commission has sent shockwaves throughout the country. The club were found guilty of all charges except one, which relates to non-cooperation with the Premier League investigation.
While any sanctions remain undecided, City maintain their innocence and have outlined their intention to appeal the verdict. A Premier League statement said that City had used "sham contracts" with commercial partners and have been "relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs".
City’s response and CEO’s claims
In response to the Premier League’s announcement, part of City's statement read: "Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today."
"The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums."
City CEO Ferran Soriano has claimed that the Premier League’s case is based on a false accusation and insisted the club would successfully appeal the verdict. Here, the Manchester Evening News has taken a look at how the national media has reacted following the announcement.
The Times: call for ownership change
The Times has called on City’s owners to be stripped of the club. The report claims that, through their financial breaches, City unfairly stole Premier League titles. The outlet highlights the Independent Football Regulator, David Kogan, and the power he would have to force a change of ownership under the Football Governance Act 2025.
Part 4, Section 38 (1) of the legislation reads: "The IFR [Independent Football Regulator] may make an order disqualifying a person from being an owner of any regulated club if under any provision of this Part the IFR determines, or is treated as having determined, that the person is not suitable to be an owner of a particular regulated club."
The article states: "The Abu Dhabi project with Manchester City started in 2008 as a sporting one that was intended to bring attention to the Emirate and, with success on the field, to boost its standing in the world’s eyes. The depth and detail of the independent commission’s judgment that was unveiled on Tuesday instead means that the owners are regarded as cheats, fraudsters and charlatans."
"The reputational damage inflicted is immeasurable, but that is their problem. The damage to the history and integrity of the Premier League is immeasurable, too, but that is now a very real problem for others to attempt to limit. It is not hard, therefore, to foresee a point where Abu Dhabi may be forced to sell the club."
The Independent and The Telegraph: expulsion and conspiracy claims
The Independent argues that City should be expelled from the Premier League, following the verdict. The Premier League’s statement outlined that the club had artificially inflated revenue and reduced costs by more than £900million over the nine-year period, with charges spanning from 2009 to 2018.
With City having dominated the league in recent years, The Independent states that a points deduction would be an insufficient punishment. The publication feels expulsion would be a more fitting sanction, given the scale of the guilty verdict.
The outlet writes: "Chief executive Ferran Soriano, whose own role at the club is surely at risk pending the outcome, delivered a three-minute video to staff stating that “the whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation” and that “every other false charge that has been thrown at us comes from that simple, central and completely false accusation. Soriano also described the “Premier League’s conspiracy theory”."
"This is where we are. It’s why it’s actually hard to see how games can even be played in anything like a proper football atmosphere. Opposition fans up and down the country are just going to have banners declaring “sham”."
"Many will be furious at the amount they invested, for a competition that was made - yes - a mockery of. Perhaps even a “sham”, given City’s success."
"That is why points deductions don’t feel sufficient. The scale of the impact in the other direction has been far too great. Expulsion would require a special shareholder vote, and a vote of 15, but feeling is currently running that high."
The Telegraph also used Soriano’s video message as an example of City’s stance on the charges brought by the Premier League. The CEO described the independent commission’s verdict as “an opinion that supports this Premier League conspiracy theory”.
The outlet's article says: "City have, in the defence against the biggest legal case in the history of British sport, always reached for the extreme option. They have acted as if they would rather bring the whole edifice down than just admit that perhaps, after all, they broke the rules."
"Breaking the rules does, however, feel inadequate in these circumstances. Breaking the rules is for the small people. Constructing a whole alternative universe was what City did, in which sponsorship deals were topped up to whatever they needed to be for the purposes of conquering English football. “Base sums” supplemented by “tagged sums” to what the commission hearing the case politely described as the “disguised funding scheme”."
The Guardian: a case for expulsion
The Guardian outlined an argument for City to face expulsion from the Premier League. The commission’s verdict detailed City’s inflated revenue, with the club having also made an effort to frustrate the investigation.
The article pointed to Everton being docked a total of eight points in the 2023/24 season for much smaller financial breaches when discussing possible sanctions. Given that City were found to have misstated their finances by more than £900m, the publication feels there is a compelling case for the club to be removed from the Premier League.
It says: "There must now be a very good argument for expulsion. How can City, at least under the current ownership, ever be trusted again? How can they go on playing even this season, pretending all is well, awaiting appeal and sanction, when they have been found guilty of charges of such magnitude?"
"When the club has behaved like this, how can its continued existence in the Premier League be tolerated? And when they have cheated as they have been shown to do between 2009-10 and 2017-18, how can their name appear on the Premier League’s roll of honour?"
