BBC reporting City found guilty of 115 charges !

[Hesperus]

Official now from the PL.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c63reg93xwzro

Guilty of ALL serious charges.

[Hesperus]

City statement in response.

https://www.mancity.com/news/club/manchester-city-club-statement-premier-league-63926128

Not a particularly inspiring rebuttal.

[Hesperus]

The wording from the PL is absolutely damming. They haven't held back at all. Sham contracts, lied to our auditors, inflated sponsorships, systemically broke rules for over a decade.

This seems existential for City.

[KunDB]

I think the City statements are looking very hollow presently.

This is dynamite, as if true they have lied to UEFA & CAS, including in my dodgy recollection a signed statement from SM specifically denying sham contracts. The key will be in how they have concluded there is enough evidence that the sponsorship contracts were shams. All sponsorship contracts have come under intense scrutiny over the years since the takeover, so it is shocking to learn they were fake all along.

Points deduction for every year involved I imagine and ask the titles gone for this years. Absolutely sickening for us fans.

It's still great to be a blue.

[Hesperus]

I don't feel great being a blue at the moment.

It's hard to believe the two sides are so far apart. Someone's got this massively wrong.

We're certainly on the back foot now. I hope we come out swinging. That said, part of me is wondering if we've been lied to by the club we love.

[gavin]

Do you trust the Premier League? I don't for a second. They have shown time after time that they are the puppets of the rags, Liverpool and Arsenal among others.

Can I say for certain that City did nothing wrong? Of course not. But I will wait and see. I do not believe in a Premier League process over what City say. I firmly believe that the process has been partisan and so was the setup of the rules in the first place.

[KunDB]

The fact this all boils down to fake sponsorship deals to hide owners investment in the club is concerning.

This was well heard and in by UEFA & CAS. Now we have a rehearing and a different conclusion and outcome that includes breaches of UEFA rules as an offence/s.

City have to prove with evidence that this did not happen, but their is no need for an evidence trail for the accusers (PL) to provide an evidence trail that it did happen. So if the panel chooses to not accept the club there is not much they can do.

I'm not very hopeful. The clubs that have hunted City down for 13 years have finally got their blood.

[Hesperus]

It's clear our PL appeal will fail.

Even if we win in a court of law the damage is done. I feel forlorn at the moment and can't see a good outcome for City, regardless of how this eventually plays out.

[KunDB]

In keeping myself away from the news and YouTube videos, so I don't get updates reigniting my frustration and pain. Therefore, I am calm today, well calmer.

Our owners have been wonderful for us and they still have my full support, but they've had 13 years to prove these sponsorship contracts are real and not the owners investment. They could have done that by any means independent forensic accounting audit, or done other way. They have simple failed to or to bed this matter and now the consequences are enormous.

Time to accept the failings take the punishment and start again, even if that is from the bottom. Turns out that 'irrefutable evidence' was not irrefutable at all. Always was a dangerous term to use.

Sadly I feel that our owners and directors/board, and sponsors, are labelled as unfit and untruthful and in breach of company accounting laws by this ruling and will have to leave the scene. I sincerely hope I'm wrong but I cannot see how they can carry on with their reparations in time. Everyone associated with the club's finances is implicated as is everyone who give witness statements to the contrary, which for CAS I believe included SM (update: I believe SM conveniently cleared in this panels findings - though cannot confirm as it is redacted).

I do not know how the club had mismanaged this so badly, it is astounding to me, but shit happens unexpectedly often.

The appeal process cannot overturn this, it is too narrow and the club must know that.

I would like to know given this will they continue to commit to the club, it just sell up, and leave us in the hands of what inevitably will be worse owners. Strange that the very best owners in the PL are the ones hunted down while the exploitative owners carry on exploiting and mismanaging clubs.

[gavin]

If the owners and directors believe that this is a wrong verdict, as they clearly do, then they should fight it.

I read on BBC that they are suggesting that in 2018 season we received only £11 million of sponsorship and £134 million was paid by the owners. I find that impossible to believe. They are suggesting that our sponsorship income actually fell from 2010 to 2018.

See the artificially inflated sponsorships table linked below. It seems ridiculous.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c9lyk46gekkeo

[Hesperus]

Yes. So far it seems deeply unfair from the PL. The accusations are really serious in nature but there isn't any proof in there.

They seem to have said we don't believe what City have provided as evidence with the only explanation being we don't believe you. In fact they said we don't believe what the people said in giving evidence again with no explanation or evidence.

The crux of it is PL say the owner directly inflated the sponsorship deals rather than the sponsors, but no proof from the PL. From what I can gather City have provided bank statements and transfers details to prove it hasn't come directly from the owner. But this evidence has been ignored, how can this be?

The media reporting is savage.

[reddishblue]

The PM is backing us?

Burnham said: "Everton was in this position a few years ago and you might remember that I fought for Everton in that situation because I still hold the view very firmly that they weren't fairly treated in that process."

Drawing a comparison between that and City's current predicament, he added: "I remember people proclaiming Everton guilty at the time and with hindsight I think more people would say that wasn't fair, the way that was handled.

"So it would be wrong of me to leap to one side given the experience that I'd had before becoming prime minister."

BBC

[reddishblue]

A little brevity is required I think.

[reddishblue]

From the Mail.

Etihad Airways spokesperson: "Etihad categorically rejects any finding, conclusion or implication that suggests the airline has ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements. The Premier League's public communication of the Commission's findings, following a period of selective leaks and reporting, has further created damaging implications for Etihad despite the airline not being named in the redacted published findings.

"At no time did the Premier League reach out to or engage with Etihad in the process associated with the Commission's opinion. Etihad was therefore never given opportunity by the Premier League to be represented, provide relevant information, or ensure the accuracy and fairness of information relied upon in reaching conclusions that may now be interpreted as reflecting adversely on the airline.

"Etihad is deeply concerned by the way this matter has been communicated publicly. The lack of clarity and transparency, together with the selective disclosure of information, has created damaging implications for Etihad despite the airline not being named in the published decision. The Premier League must take responsibility for the consequences of the way in which these findings have been presented.

"We stand with the Club, its supporters and our wider Etihad community as #ManCity� challenges the Commission's conclusions through the processes available to it. Etihad will seek the relevant legal counsel on the options and recourse available to protect its interests..."

[gavin]

We're Man City, we fight till the end. Hopefully, the end of the corrupt Premier League. Football needs a new fairer league not run by the red cartel.

[Stephen Paul]

💯
Interesting times ahead

[reddishblue]

City Xtra
@City_Xtra
BREAKING: #ManCity's 'irrefutable evidence' referred to throughout the Premier League case relates to government bank statements and witness statements presented at the hearing, showing money being transferred to sponsors from government accounts, which was then used by sponsors to pay
@ManCity
.

[via
@MikeKeegan_DM
]

[reddishblue]

Going to the high court?

From the Mail

[reddishblue]

The Premier League declined to comment.

[reddishblue]

For shits and giggles