Manchester City respond to Premier League’s seismic ruling of guilt over majority of 115 charges

Manchester City have protested their innocence despite the Premier League 's ruling that the club was guilty of the majority of the 115 charges levied against it for breaches of the league's financial rules.

The club issued a statement in response to the Premier League's seismic judgement , which was published on Tuesday after reports first emerged last Friday that a verdict had been reached.

Sanctions have yet to be decided in the case and City have until Friday 2 October to appeal the independent commission's findings. The commission was appointed after a four-year investigation into the charges, which span a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018, during which time City won eight trophies.

A club statement read: " Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today.

"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 Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.

"The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.

"The Club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete."

The Premier League statement on the findings read: "An independent Commission has found Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a 9-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League's investigation.

"The independent Commission found that Manchester City arranged 'sham' commercial deals with a number of its sponsors during the period, which were part of a disguised funding scheme, whereby those companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees."