Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, said: “The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.
“It also vindicates the Premier League’s decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently.
“It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the Rules, approved by the clubs themselves, are upheld to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans. We take that role extremely seriously.”
The Premier League also said that City’s sanction “will be addressed separately in a further hearing with the independent commission”.
The League’s rules state that the hearing must remain private and confidential.
Lisa Nandy MP, the Culture, Media & Sport secretary, told the BBC: “It’s incredibly serious, the Premier League report is incredibly stark.
“This is causing a lot of concern for Man City fans and all fans of Premier League football.”
David Bernstein, who was City chairman between 1998-2003, said the “credibility of the Premier League is at stake” after the verdict.
“It is damning beyond belief, they’ve [the Premier League] talked about producing false documentation and a panel of behaviour over a number of years which is quite unbelievable.
“There always a school of thought with lawyers that you always deny, deny, deny, until the last, but this a football club that is part of a league, and the whole credibility of the Premier League and competition is at stake here. This is very serious and I wonder if the accusations are so, that whether some of these issues might need to be referred to authorities outside of the league.
“The sanctions cannot just be financial, money doesn’t mean much to the Abu Dhabi owners. If this all stands up and the appeal fails, Manchester City cannot stay in the Premier League, they have to suffer a serious penalty that takes them out of the Premier League and I say that as a supporter and fan of 70 years.”
