“Manchester City have launched their appeal against an independent commission’s decision that the club broke Premier League spending rules via a ‘Disguised Funding Scheme’ that helped them inflate income and reduce costs to the tune of £900million ($1.19billion). It leaves City facing the most serious of punishments. While the scope of this has not been confirmed, sanctions could include relegation to lower divisions, massive fines and even the prospect of having titles stripped. City have vowed to fight back, branding the independent commission’s decision ‘unsafe’, while their chief executive Ferran Soriano has referred to a Premier League ‘conspiracy theory’. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)

Inside the Manchester City guilty verdict: Hidden costs of bonuses, alleged £100m breach in 2017-18
“It was a seemingly innocuous email, sent on a Wednesday morning in January 2017, that started everything. A few days earlier, Manchester City had beaten West Ham United 5-0 in the third round of the FA Cup. It was Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge. Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero, all symbols of City’s ascent to English football’s elite, were among the scorers. But this email would herald a new era in the club’s history. Arriving in the inbox of a senior official at City, it appeared to have been sent by an employee from European football’s governing body, UEFA, and contained a link to a financial compliance report. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)