New Delhi: Manchester City have been slammed with a £2.09m fine by the Premier League after finding the club delayed the start or restart of a game on 22 instances. The league stated that the rule violation for two seasons. The reigning champions have acknowledged and accepted the sanctions.
It has been noted that the charges are unrelated to the 115 charges the City are already facing for reportedly breaching the financial regulations of the competition. Premier League stated that they had entered into a sanction agreement with Manchester City after the club accepted the breach of Premier League’s Rull L.33, which relates to the obligation to kick-off and restart obligations.
City were punished on a sliding scale in context to each offence. Their first lapse was a delay of one minute and 18 seconds against Crystal Palace in August 2022 and had only induced a warning. Fines ranging from £10,000 to £200,000 were levied for each of the breaches. Their longest delay saw them start their final game of the last season against West Ham after two minutes and 46 seconds, which saw them sanctioned £ 200,000. The game saw them clinch their fourth consecutive title with a 3-1 win over West Ham.
The defending Premier League champions were found to have delayed eight restarts during their 2022-23 campaign and were fined £ 390,000. The 2023-24 season involved the club with a total of 14 infringements, and they were fined £ 1.7m. They delayed the second half of the game on 11 occasions and started four matches late in the season. During their 1-0 victory at home against Newcastle, the game was both late to start and restarted after halftime. In the two seasons, 12 of the delays happened in their home matches.
Further Premier League’s statement noted that the rules regarding kick-offs and restarts were in place so that the competition is conducted in the most professional fashion and brings certainty to both participating clubs and the fans. Further, the rules ensure that all 380 league games are on schedule. Though City didn’t make any comments on the league’s decision, the ruling did say that the club have accepted and apologised for the infringements. City further have issued a reminder to their players and management team for maintaining the required punctuality in the league.
The reigning champions were fined a total of £2.09m after being found guilty of delaying games on 22 occasions. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
