August 1 – English champions Manchester City have been fined more than £2 million by the Premier League for no fewer than 22 instances of delaying kick-offs or restarting matches.
City have accepted the sanction which relates to rule infringements over the last two seasons.
The Abu Dhabi-owned club delayed restarts eight times in the 2022-23 season and were fined £390,000. In the 2023-24 season there were 14 breaches and fines amounting to £1.7 million – with the start of the second half delayed 11 times and the start of the match delayed four times.
“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 restart obligations,” a statement said.
“Rules relating to kick-offs and restarts 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.”
City have been punished on a sliding scale for each offense. The first – a delay of 1 minute, 18 seconds to the start of the second half against Crystal Palace in August 2022 – incurred a warning.
Fines have then been imposed for each subsequent breach.
The longest delay was 2 minutes, 46 seconds for the start of the final league game against West Ham last season, when City clinched a fourth successive title with a 3-1 win. The club was fined £200,000 for that 14th breach of the season.
The issue is not connected to the 115 charges City are still facing for alleged breaches of financial regulations. Some of those charges relate to amounts paid to City by sponsors linked to Abu Dhabi. The club have always strenuously denied the charges and say they are supported by a “body of irrefutable evidence”.
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