Man City hit with £2m fine for repeated match delays

Manchester City have been fined £2.09 million by the Premier League for 22 instances of delaying the kick-off or restart of matches. The English champions accepted they had breached Premier League rules 22 times “without good reason.”

The Premier League announced that Man City had “apologised for the accepted breaches and confirmed that it has reminded the players and football management teams of their responsibilities.”

“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,” the Premier League stated. “It also ensures the broadcast of all 380 league matches around the world is kept to schedule.”

Man City have declined to comment on the fines.

In the 2022/23 season, Man City delayed restarts eight times and were fined £390,000. In the 2023/24 season, there were 14 breaches resulting in fines amounting to £1.7 million. These included 11 delays to the start of the second half and four delays to the start of matches.

The punishments ranged from a warning for the first offence, which occurred during a match against Crystal Palace on 27 August 2022, to the largest sanction of £200,000 for the longest delay of two minutes and 46 seconds. This delay took place during their 3-1 victory over West Ham on 19 May 2024, when they secured their fourth consecutive Premier League title on the last day of the season.

Their 1-0 home victory over Newcastle on 19 August 2023 featured a delayed kick-off and restart, and 12 of the breaches across the two seasons occurred during home matches.

In March 2023, the league’s independent disciplinary commission fined Crystal Palace £220,000, £70,000 of which was suspended, for causing delays in two games in October 2022. These were Palace’s 13th and 14th breaches in two seasons.

Later this year, a Premier League disciplinary commission is expected to hear 115 charges against City for allegedly breaching financial regulations, some of which date back to 2009. Some of those charges relate to amounts paid to Manchester City by sponsors linked to Abu Dhabi.

The Citizens have consistently denied the charges, asserting that they are supported by a “body of irrefutable evidence.”