Manchester City have been fined just over £2million by the Premier League for 22 breaches of kick-off delays over the last two seasons.
City have apologised for the delays and have agreed to pay the sanctions, which have no connection to the 115 charges they are facing for alleged breaches of the competition’s financial regulations.
In total, the fines are worth £2.09m and relate to 22 breaches over the past two seasons where City have taken too long to either return to the pitch at half-time or at the start of the match.
A statement from the Premier League read: “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.”
Not many would have known about the rule, that insists teams cannot hold up kick-off at the start of the match or after half time.
One incident saw City delay kick-off by just 79 seconds but it was still enough to see them fined £100,000.
The longest delay was two minutes and 46 seconds for the start of the final game of the season against West Ham last season, when City clinched a fourth successive Premier League title.
In total, Pep Guardiola’s side were found to have delayed restarts by 39 mins and 52 seconds.
City apologised for the breaches and have “reminded its players and management teams of their responsibilities.” City are still under investigation by the Premier League over 115 charges relating to numerous rulings including financial stipulations.
The charges relate to breached regulations from the 2009/2010 season until the 2017/18 campaign.
The Premier League champions vehemently deny any wrongdoing.
A hearing in front of an independent panel is set to go ahead in November – 18 months after the initial announcement was made over the charges.
The Premier League champions vehemently deny any wrongdoing. A hearing in front of an independent panel is set to go ahead in November – 18 months after the initial announcement was made over the charges.
It has been alleged that City could even be relegated if they are found guilty.
City have won the Premier League four times in a row – a feat that had never been managed before – and are looking to defend their crown for a fifth consecutive time next season.
