Manchester City have today been fined by the Premier League for delaying the kick-off of matches during the 22/23 and 23/24 seasons. The sanction was today announced by the Premier League.
Manchester City Evening News reporter Joe Bray reported via X that the Premier League champions had been fined £2.09 million by the Premier League. Jack Gaughan has further reported for the Daily Mail that City were fined for 22 breaches of the Premier League kick-off rules. Furthermore, it is also included in Gaughan’s report that the most high-profile game on the list was City’s Premier League title-clinching win over West Ham on the final day of the 23/24 season.
The Premier League released a statement following the sanction. It said: “The Premier League and Manchester City FC have entered into a sanction agreement after the club accepted it had breached Premier League Rule L.33 relating to kick-off and re-start obligations.
The breaches relate to a number of Premier League matches during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons.
Rules relating to kick-offs and re-starts help ensure the organisation of the competition is set at the highest possible professional standard and provides certainty to fans and participating clubs.
It also ensures the broadcast of all 380 League matches around the world is kept to schedule.
As required by the Premier League Rules, the sanction agreement has been ratified by three members of the Independent Judicial Panel.”
Manchester City released a statement following the Premier League’s announcement. The statement, which was relayed by Eurosport, said: “The Club has apologised for the accepted breaches set out in paragraph 3, above, and confirmed that it has reminded the Club’s players and football management teams of their responsibilities in complying with Rule L.33.”
Today’s news is yet another chapter in Manchester City’s ongoing ‘battles’ with the Premier League. City’s 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s Financial Fairplay regulations have dominated headlines for the past 18 months. The news that the Premier League champions launched legal action against the Premier League also was a huge talking point earlier this summer. Today’s news just adds to the ongoing story between Manchester City and the Premier League.
Today’s announcement and subsequent sanction agreement between Manchester City and the Premier League does end this story. But there are still two more verdicts to come between Manchester City and the Premier League which will no doubt dominate the headlines in the near future.
