Manchester City launched an appeal against the Premier League verdict in its financial case, describing the challenge as a “comprehensive appeal.”
Manchester City faced a deadline day to appeal against findings that they broke Premier League financial rules, as the Football Association said the case had “implications for the integrity of the game”.
The Premier League announced that an independent commission had found the Abu Dhabi-backed club guilty on more than 100 charges.
The likely punishment is uncertain but City, currently top of the world’s richest domestic league, could face substantial points deductions, a fine or even expulsion from the top division.
The 10-time English champions, who continue to deny any wrongdoing, have vowed to appeal and had just hours left to do so on Friday.
The English FA broke its silence on the case today, saying that the commission’s decision “has significant implications for the integrity of the game”.
“We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate,” the national governing body said in a statement.
“As proceedings between the Premier League and Manchester City Football Club remain ongoing, we do not intend to comment further at this stage. We will, however, continue to monitor developments closely.”
The independent commission found that City arranged “sham” deals to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than £900 million ($1.2 billion) between 2009 and 2018, a period in which they won three Premier League titles and other silverware.
The commission found that the club had concealed the true state of its finances, saying City were “significantly in breach of both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits”.
Downing Street said on Thursday that the super-club was not “above the rules” following criticism of British Prime Minister Andy Burnham over the case.
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“As the prime minister made clear, the initial judgement is serious and there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules,” a spokesperson said.
Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, told the BBC on Wednesday that he did not want to see the club’s Emirati owners walk away as a result of the case.
