For people who keep hearing about Manchester City and the famous “115 charges”, there is often a lot of confusion about what those charges actually mean.
First, one important point needs to be made.
115 charges does not mean Manchester City were accused of 115 completely separate acts of cheating.
The 115 allegations were grouped across several areas, covering different seasons and different Premier League rules. The Premier League referred the case to an independent Commission in February 2023, with the allegations covering financial reporting, player and manager payments, UEFA regulations, the Premier League’s profitability rules and cooperation with the investigation.
So, What Exactly Was Manchester City Accused Of?
To understand the case properly, it helps to break the allegations down into the five main categories.
1. Financial Information — 54 Charges
The biggest category concerns financial information supplied to the Premier League.
Between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons, Manchester City were accused of failing to provide financial information that gave a true and fair picture of the club’s financial position.
This included information relating to things such as:
- Revenue
- Sponsorship income
- Operating costs
- The club’s overall financial position
In simple terms, the Premier League’s allegation was that the financial information submitted by Manchester City did not accurately reflect the club’s finances.
2. Player and Manager Payments — 14 Charges
The second major category involved payments to players and managers.
Manchester City were accused of failing to properly disclose the full details of player remuneration and certain manager payments during the relevant period.
These allegations cover several seasons between 2009/10 and 2017/18.
The issue was not simply whether players and managers were paid. The allegation concerned whether the club had accurately reported the relevant payments in accordance with the Premier League’s rules at the time.
3. UEFA Financial Fair Play — 5 Charges
Five of the allegations relate to UEFA’s financial regulations.
The Premier League alleged that Manchester City failed to comply with UEFA’s financial rules between the 2013/14 and 2017/18 seasons.
These allegations relate to UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations.
4. Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules — 7 Charges
Another seven allegations concern the Premier League’s own Profitability and Sustainability Rules, commonly known as PSR.
These allegations cover the 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons.
The rules were designed to place limits on the losses clubs could make over the relevant assessment periods. The financial information supplied by a club therefore plays an important role in determining whether it complied with those rules.
5. Failure to Cooperate — 35 Charges
Then there are the 35 allegations concerning cooperation with the Premier League’s investigation.
These are different from the allegations about the club’s finances themselves.
The Premier League accused Manchester City of failing to properly cooperate with its investigation by not providing information and documents as required.
The investigation began in December 2018, before the Premier League formally referred the alleged rule breaches to an independent Commission in February 2023.
So Where Does the Sponsorship Allegation Come In?
This is probably the part that causes the most debate among football fans.
A central issue in the Premier League’s allegations concerns the way certain sponsorship revenues were reported.
In broad terms, the Premier League alleged that some money presented as commercial sponsorship revenue was actually funded, at least in part, through Manchester City’s ownership structure.
The important word here is alleged.
It is not accurate to present every allegation as an established fact. Manchester City have consistently denied wrongdoing in relation to the Premier League’s case.
Why Do People Keep Saying “115 Charges”?
When the categories are put together, the numbers are:
54 — Financial information
14 — Player and manager payments
5 — UEFA financial regulations
7 — Premier League PSR
35 — Failure to cooperate
That adds up to 115 allegations.
So when someone says Manchester City are facing 115 charges, it is better to understand it as 115 alleged breaches of various rules across different seasons and categories, rather than imagining 115 completely unrelated incidents.
What Happens Next?
The Premier League referred the case to an independent Commission, separate from the Premier League and its member clubs.
The proceedings have been conducted under the relevant disciplinary process, and the outcome is ultimately a matter for the independent process rather than something that should be assumed from the number of allegations alone.
For anyone discussing the Manchester City case, the simplest thing to remember is this: the 115 figure is a total made up of allegations across several different categories and seasons.
Understanding what those categories actually involve gives a much clearer picture of what the Premier League has alleged against Manchester City.
Leave a Reply