Four Premier League clubs given early warning of Man City guilty verdict as compensation decision made

Manchester United were one of four Premier League clubs informed of the independent commission’s guilty verdict over Man City’s breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018, before the rest of the league – and there’s a reason why.

City were found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League rules, with the League confirming the verdict via a lengthy statement on September 29 in which they said City had used “sham” contracts to inflate revenue figures and reduce costs, as well as arranging disguised funding schemes worth more than £830million with commercial partners.

The commission also found City guilty of all but one of the charges relating to non-cooperation with the league’s investigation, saying that “a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects and that some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence”.

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Why were four Premier League clubs informed of Man City verdict before the rest?

And while the news was first broken by The Athletic’s David Ornstein on September 25, a report from The Telegraph claims Liverpool, Man United, Tottenham and Arsenal were contacted in advance of an email to the other 15 Premier League clubs, with executives made to sign a non-disclosure agreement to view the contents.

The report states: “In September 2024, shortly before the six-year limit on giving notice to seek damages in the event of a guilty verdict for City, the four clubs individually notified City they would reserve the right to do so.

“In September 2024, the four clubs had instructed legal counsel individually to give notice they reserved the right to seek compensation before the six-year time limit ran out on the original disclosures about City’s finances, published in Der Spiegel in Germany.

“At the time there was no means by which any Premier League club could contact the independent commission itself to be advised on whether, in the event of one or more guilty verdicts against City, the issue of compensation would play a role in the judgment, or potential sanctioning.”

This comes after reports surfaced on October 6, suggesting that numerous clubs want both retrospective and current punishments to be handed to City rather than a one-off points deduction.

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City maintain innocence with appeal

City have since appealed the verdict. The appeal will be heard by a three-person panel and is expected to be concluded within 12 weeks, with the result communicated publicly within 30 days of that date.

Potential punishments include suspension from playing in the league, points deductions, the replaying of matches, expulsion from the league, being ordered to pay compensation to other clubs, automatic relegation and even the stripping of titles.

City deny any wrongdoing and say they have a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists” to support their position.

The eight-time Premier League champions return to action against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday (October 11).

No City player has yet commented on the guilty verdict, although Enzo Maresca may be forced to do so during a press conference on Friday (October 9).

Kyle Walker insists Premier League ‘can’t take away’ trophies

Earlier today, former City captain Kyle Walker discussed the guilty verdict during an appearance on talkSPORT and admitted the current situation “doesn’t look great” before making clear that the Premier League cannot take away the experience of winning trophies from the players involved.

The Burnley full-back said: “Obviously it doesn’t look great. I know it’s in an appeal stage so, for me to start commenting on the legal action and everything like that, probably it’s not going to do myself justice or anyone involved in it.

“But, at a personal level, I can say the lads, we spent many and many a great year celebrating many trophies and everything like that and that’s something that, whatever happens, they can’t take away from us because we’ve experienced them nights.

“So, whatever will be, will be, and it’s just down to the appeal now and what goes from there.”

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