NewzFerran Soriano said Manchester City's legal team would move into action to prove the Premier League verdict was 'unsafe'. (EPA Images pic)LONDON: Manchester City chief executive officer Ferran Soriano said on Tuesday his club will be vindicated after blasting the guilty verdict for breaching financial rules as a "Premier League conspiracy theory".City have been found guilty of all charges related to breaking Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018 by an independent commission.But the former Premier League champions immediately responded by revealing their intention to appeal against the verdict.In a video message to City staff, Soriano came out fighting against the Premier League decision."A document has been made public with an opinion of the Premier League commission which is negative to our interests," he said."I want to explain exactly what this is, the next steps, and how we are going to continue to defend the club and finally be vindicated in this process."City could face relegation if their appeal is unsuccessful, with other punishments potentially including a large points deduction or massive fine.They could also be stripped of the eight English titles won since the club's Abu Dhabi-backed takeover in 2008.Insisting the Premier League have been given "irrefutable" evidence the charges should be dismissed, Soriano launched a vociferous defence of City's case."This has gone on for so long that it's important to remind ourselves that the whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation; that the owner's personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi," he said."This is just not true. Irrefutable evidence has been provided to the Premier League commission that shows that it could not happen and that it did not happen."This includes bank statements, money transfers, witnesses, and everything necessary to categorically demonstrate the money did not come from the owner."Every other false charge that has been thrown at us and aggressively marketed and promoted comes from that simple, central, and completely false accusation."'We have been here before' Soriano said City's legal team would move into action to prove the Premier League verdict was "unsafe"."Surprisingly for us and for our lawyers, after nearly two years, the Premier League commission has issued an opinion that sup…
A significant punishment for Man City could affect past and future title races, European qualification and the distribution of tens of millions of pounds in prize money. (EPA Images pic)LONDON: Manchester City used "sham" commercial contracts as part of schemes to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than £900 million over nearly a decade, the Premier League said on Tuesday after an independent commission ruled the club guilty of serious breaches of financial rules.The commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the league's financial rules over nine seasons, between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 campaigns, as well as three of four charges concerning their failure to co-operate with the investigation.The club, which denies wrongdoing, said in a statement it would appeal "on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe".No sanction has yet been imposed, leaving unresolved the potential consequences for a club that has dominated English football over the past decade.A significant punishment could affect past and future title races, European qualification and the distribution of tens of millions of pounds in prize money. The case has also raised wider questions about financial governance, competitive integrity and the Premier League's ability to hold its most powerful clubs to account.'Sham contracts'An independent commission found that City arranged “sham” contracts that misrepresented the true agreements with several commercial partners and relied on similar agreements with others to inflate their revenue and reduce costs artificially, the league said.It found that several sponsors were required to pay only part of the fees recorded in the relevant agreements, with the balance supplied by the club's owner Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG).The commission also identified arrangements funded by ADUG that allowed City to record lower operating expenses.The schemes inflated City’s revenue and reduced their costs, creating the appearance that the club complied with financial regulations, the league said.The report also found that a number of the club's witnesses presented false evidence at the hearing, which ran for 42 days, and some knowingly misled the commission.The commission concluded that City would have breached both the Premier League’s and Uefa's spe…
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