Soccer team Man City used 'sham' deals says top league

In one of global sport's biggest scandals ever, the English Premier League, or EPL, has found soccer club Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious financial rule breaches over a nine-season period, as well as most charges related to it failing to cooperate with the league's investigation, the Premier League confirmed this week.

An independent commission determined that between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, Manchester City arranged fraudulent, or "sham", commercial contracts as part of a scheme to artificially inflate revenues by 830 million pounds ($1.1 billion).

The club continues to deny any wrongdoing and has confirmed it will appeal the ruling and has until Friday to do so.

The Premier League formally announced the verdict on Tuesday, four days after the club's guilt on 114 rule breaches was first reported in the media.

In the league's published statement, Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, said: "The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade."

In response to the announcement, Manchester City released its own statement, saying it was "disappointed and surprised" by the verdict and that: "The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums."

The dominant force in England for the past 15 years and currently leading the league, Manchester City now faces potential sanctions ranging from a significant points deduction to expulsion from the world's richest soccer competition.

Assessing the likely punishments the club faces, football finance expert Kieran Maguire told the BBC: "I agree that it could be a very hefty points deduction and a transfer embargo at the very least. On top of that, I believe there will be a very significant financial penalty added into the equation."

The charges cover a range of misconduct, including submitting inaccurate financial data, inflating the value of sponsorship deals, concealing payments that topped up salaries for players and managers, and violating spending rules set by the Premier League that are designed to ensure clubs live within their means.

On the sponsorship deals, the league said: "Manchester City arranged 'sham' contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on 'sham' agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs."