The end of last month delivered the news rival fans had waited years to hear. On 29 September, the Premier League announced that an independent commission had found Manchester City guilty of all 80 charges of financial wrongdoing, plus 34 of 35 charges of failing to cooperate with its investigation.
The breaches span nine seasons, from 2009-10 to 2017-18 – the very years City rose to the top of the world’s most competitive – and most prestigious – football league.
The commission found the club used deals with commercial partners that misrepresented the real arrangements, inflating revenue and understating costs.
According to Associated Press, City artificially boosted its revenue by more than US$1 billion over nearly a decade.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the ruling “establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period.”
Few clubs divide football fans around the globe like Manchester City.
Since Abu Dhabi’s takeover in 2008, City have gone from Manchester United’s “noisy neighbours” to the dominant force in English football, winning a record four league titles in a row and, in 2023, the Champions League.
To supporters, it is a fairytale. But to many pundits around the world, it’s always looked too good to be true – and these recent findings have gifted the critics their ammunition.
That divide is alive and well in Australia’s Muslim community, where Liverpool and Manchester United command the biggest followings.
The trophy cabinet tells the story. During the nine seasons under the microscope, City lifted seven major trophies: the FA Cup in 2011, Premier League titles in 2012, 2014 and 2018, and League Cups in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Once the audit period closed, the silverware flowed even faster, with 15 more: five Premier League titles (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), three FA Cups (2019, 2023 and 2026), four League Cups (2019, 2020, 2021 and 2026), the long-coveted Champions League in 2023 and the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup later that same year.
the final years of the audit period
That is 22 major trophies since 2009, and the machine is still rolling. City won their first seven league games this season, including a 3-0 rout of Liverpool at Anfield and a 1-0 win at Old Trafford, before Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Aston Villa left them level with Arsenal on 21 points, top only on goal difference.
No punishment has been decided yet, but the options are brutal: fines, transfer bans and points deductions.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has floated a deduction of 60 to 100 points, enough to all but guarantee relegation from the Premier League.
England’s Sky Sports reports that rival clubs believe a penalty keeping City out of the top flight for just one season would be nowhere near long enough.
Then there is the ownership question. City are owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice-president of the UAE.
England’s new Independent Football Regulator can force owners to sell and can refuse a club its licence if owners are deemed unfit.
Its chair, David Kogan, says a verdict upheld on appeal would be taken into account, and has vowed to resign if there is any political interference.
Paul Dempsey
Veteran British broadcaster Paul Dempsey, speaking on Australia’s Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast recently, said the situation “brings into question the ownership of the club.”
He called it “the most complex scenario that I think one could ever have imagined,” warning the fallout could be “much, much worse” for English football.
“Be careful what you wish for,” he warned.
Asked whether the case could bring down others, Dempsey agreed, saying rival clubs are watching and thinking: “there but for the grace of God go I”.
City deny everything. The club said it was “disappointed and surprised” by the verdict and on 1 October, lodged what it called a “comprehensive appeal”, arguing the commission’s opinion “contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.” They insist that “a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” supports its position.
The appeal hearing should be held within the next three months, pointing to a decision around mid to late January.
Until then, City’s faithful will keep believing, and the rest of the football world, from Manchester to western Sydney, will keep watching.
- Feature image: Manchester City’s spirital home Etihad Stadium – photo credit Cléria De Souza.
