Man City statement after being charged with over 100 financial rule breaches

The Premier League alleges the current champions, who could face a points deduction or expulsion, broke financial regulations across a nine-year period

Manchester City insist they are “surprised” at being charged by the Premier League with more than 100 alleged breaches of financial regulations.

The reigning champions could potentially be hit with a points deduction or even expulsion from the league if found guilty following a four-year investigation.

The unprecedented series of allegations from Premier League concerns a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018, with the club insisting there is “irrefutable evidence” to prove their innocence.

A club statement read: “Manchester City is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with.

“The Club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent Commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.

“As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”

City won the Premier League title three times during that period, with the Premier League’s allegations concerning the requirement to provide “accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position,” specifically relating to “revenue”, “sponsorship revenue” and “operating costs”.

The next stage for the Premier League sees City referred to an independent commission, who will determine whether the club have broken Premier League rules.

The alleged breaches come more than two years after City successfully overturned a two-year ban from Uefa at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) concerning Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

City were initially found guilty of "diguising" cash injections from the ownership as sponsorship payments, specifically from Etisalat and Etihad.

However, a £9 million fine for lack of cooperation was upheld, reduced down from £30 million.

The reasoning by Cas for overturning the ban from the Champions League was that the alleged FFP breaches could “either not be established” or were “time-barred”.

Pep Guardiola hit out at the Premier League and their rivals only last week ahead of their trip to Tottenham, stating: "We were accused. I don't forget, eight or nine teams in the Premier League send a letter to the Premier League to be banned. That happened to us."