Manchester City have been fined more than £2million by the Premier League relating to kick-off and restart obligations.
City have accepted they breached Premier League rule L.33 on 22 separate occasions, eight times in the 2022-23 season and on 14 occasions in the 2023-24 campaign.
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.”
The sanction agreement indicates that the club has apologised for the accepted breaches and reminded players and the football management teams of their responsibilities in complying with the regulations.
In August 2023, Crystal Palace were fined £220,000 (£70,000 suspended) for delaying kick-off in two matches in the 2022-23 season.
Palace made submissions during a hearing which were later made available to the public but City have entered into a settlement agreement and have declined to comment.
- vs Crystal Palace (August 27, 2022). 1 min and 18 secs delay to restart. Warning.
- vs Brighton & Hove Albion (October 22, 2022). 1 min and 19 secs delay to restart. £10,000 fine.
- vs Leeds United (December 18, 2022). 1 min and 34 secs delay to restart. £20,000 fine.
- vs Everton (December 31, 2022). 2 min and 33 secs delay to kick-off. £40,000 fine.
- vs Leicester City (April 15, 2023). 1 min and 29 secs delay to restart. £60,000 fine.
- vs Everton (May 14, 2023). 2 min and 15 secs delay to restart. £80,000 fine.
- vs Chelsea (May 21, 2023). 1 min and 26 secs delay to restart. £80,000 fine.
- vs Brighton & Hove Albion (May 24, 2023). 1 min and 17 secs delay to restart. £100,000 fine.
- vs Burnley (August 11, 2023). 1 min and 32 secs delay to restart. £40,000 fine.
- vs Newcastle (August 19, 2023). 2 mins and 34 secs delay to kick-off, 1 min and 17 secs delay to restart. £60,000 fine.
- vs Brighton (October 21, 2023). 2 mins and 35 secs delay to kick-off. £80,000 fine.
- vs Aston Villa (December 6, 2023). 1 min and 34 secs delay to restart. £100,000 fine.
- vs Crystal Palace (December 16, 2023). 1 min and 19 secs delay to restart. £100,000 fine.
- vs Sheffield United (December 30, 2023). 1 min and 26 secs delay to restart. £100,000 fine.
- vs Newcastle (January 13, 2024). 1 min and 46 secs delay to restart. £125,000 fine.
- vs Chelsea (February 17, 2024). 1 min and 55 secs delay to restart. £125,000 fine.
- vs Aston Villa (April 3, 2024). 1 min and 40 secs delay to restart. £130,000 fine.
- vs Crystal Palace (April 6, 2024). 1 min and 43 secs delay to restart. £150,000 fine.
- vs Brighton (April 25, 2024). 1 min and 45 secs delay to restart. £170,000 fine.
- vs Nottingham Forest (April 28, 2024). 1 min and 22 secs delay to restart. £160,000 fine.
- vs Tottenham (May 14, 2024). 1 min and 27 secs delay to restart. £180,000 fine.
- vs West Ham (May 19, 2024). 2 mins and 46 secs delay to kick-off. £200,000 fine.
Analysis
By Manchester City correspondent Sam Lee
Of course, any kind of City scrape with the law is going to generate headlines in the current climate and it is certainly with good reason in this case, due to the sums involved.
The Premier League started by handing out warnings in each of the two seasons but the breaches continued to rack up and so did the fines.
There is a handy — if slightly officious — pdf file that tells us exactly how long City were late to start either the match itself or the second half, with the biggest delay coming in at two minutes and 35 seconds, and it shows the fines starting at £10,000 and eventually reaching £200,000.
In all there were 22 breaches over two seasons and the fines amount to £1,019 per second’s delay.
(Ryan Pierse – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
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