Guilty of 114 charges

[VectisSaint]

1 hour ago, Osvaldorama said:

WTF has it got to do with him? Bell end 

Bet they’ve paid him off as well 

He was the Mayor of Manchester, probably had a lot of contact with them and their supposedly massive investments in the City. 

[Turkish]

1 minute ago, AlexLaw76 said:

That fee, even at that time, was very low.

Got to me far more to it than that. No doubt his wages are very 'complicated' also

these are the other big transfers that summer. At the time i think they said it was because his release clause kicked in that season, but it doesnt make sense a apparently the year before they rejected bids of 120m from other clubs

[Osvaldorama]

14 minutes ago, VectisSaint said:

He was the Mayor of Manchester, probably had a lot of contact with them and their supposedly massive investments in the City. 

I’m sure. Sportswashing after all.  They’ve left no stone unturned in their corruption. Not just politicians but celebs too:

 

[Willo of Whiteley]

17 minutes ago, Osvaldorama said:

I’m sure. Sportswashing after all.  They’ve left no stone unturned in their corruption. Not just politicians but celebs too:

 

Best get Farage in power now, or Lowe.

They’re squeaky clean on your book. 🤣

As PM he should’ve not got involved, but given he was mayor of Manchester he probably had a lot of discussions with them previously. Doesn’t mean he knew anything about their (lack of) sporting integrity.

Edited 21 hours ago by Willo of Whiteley

[East Kent Saint]

10 hours ago, Football Special said:

But if it wasn't for FFP and we just went back to how it used to be they'd have just been allowed to spend their own money , still dont know why they couldn't invest millions in Etihad airways and use their marketing budget to sponsor Man City 

The old days relied on wealthy local business men investing heavily in their local club which worked until they ran out of money or died . The rot started when clubs became PLCs and eventually dodgy foreign States thought it would enhance their country's world standing if they got involved in famous sports clubs in the western sphere . They did this by bending all the rules and bare faced lying that they are still doing despite being found out in 113 cases . They couldn’t care less about the clubs they own , not surprised Burnham is panicking the dodgy arabs might cut and run now they have lost any reputation they thought they had . Selling Man City would be excellent , restarting afresh under full scrutiny is the only way to restore the clubs reputation .

[Osvaldorama]

21 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

Best get Farage in power now, or Lowe.

They’re squeaky clean on your book. 🤣

As PM he should’ve not got involved, but given he was mayor of Manchester he probably had a lot of discussions with them previously. Doesn’t mean he knew anything about their (lack of) sporting integrity.

Doing a little dance for anyone who invests in his precious hometown is the type of thing you see in corrupt dictatorships.

Im not sure what Farage or Lowe have to do with this, but personally I want to live in a country where integrity matters, and corruption is rooted out, not rewarded. 

How this is handled has bigger implications than just football imo. 

[gio1saints]

10 hours ago, Saint86 said:

Throughout this period, the rules allowed rich owners to invest their money into a club to boost their competitiveness - upto agreed upon limits.

Man city have done that, and then smashed through it with flagrant cheating and a litany of dodgy deals and sham (a legal term) sponsorship contracts - In so doing, they have essentially stolen the money invested in, and the efforts of, all other clubs they have competed against.

Let alone poaching players, staff, and academy products etc.

Leicester were an example of owners investing up to the allowed limits - and actually its evident that Man City directly stole multiple seasons of champions league qualification from them during this period - and now look at the state of Liecester, a club that could very likely cease to exist in the next few years, thanks in part to City's cheating.

It is hard to fathom how anyone can justify the scale of damage that City have done to the football pyramid. Why on earth anyone thinks its remotely reasonable for sovereign wealth funds etc., to be able to use their wealth to utterly out-compete with owners like Gao etc (and just eradicate any merit of sporting or business competence with oil money) i don't know... but how anyone can then go one stage further and excuse cheating those rules (and on this scale) is mind boggling. If that is what you are meaning to say, then honestly, i would say to think about it again and potentially reconsider the impacts this has had on a significant number of clubs within the 92.

I’m not excusing the fraud that took place - sorry that IS taking place everywhere you look in football- starting with on the pitch cheating every single match and moving onto the brown envelops department of sports agents and even to the head - Infantino trying to sell the fucking thing like it was London Bridge! Even down to the turnstile operators letting you in for cash at Wembley. It’s fucked. Everywhere. 

I think those grasping for their pearls about this particular manifestation of corruption in football are about thirty years too late. Arguments about the industrial scale of the cheating and poor hard done by other 91 clubs fans and all the rest don’t impress me much. Man City got caught. Juventus caught caught in Calciopoly. Real Madrid should be non existent but instead have a lovely collection of CL trophies. They are all at it in one way or another. The loudest complainers probably the worst ones not caught yet. Also, fun fact : Watch fir the big clubs who say nought. They are the real big time swindlers! 

Edited 20 hours ago by gio1saints

[benjii]

2 hours ago, Turkish said:

these are the other big transfers that summer. At the time i think they said it was because his release clause kicked in that season, but it doesnt make sense a apparently the year before they rejected bids of 120m from other clubs

Antony! 🤣

[aintforever]

3 hours ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

Bit of a silly statement, they’ve invested considerable amounts across the city in terms of regeneration.

I’m pretty confident if Markus Liebherr invested hundreds of millions in the city of Southampton no one would complain.

It doesn’t make the cheating ok by any means, but it certainly doesn’t make their efforts elsewhere wasted - they’ve invested in areas other than the football club that have seen upturns in the city.

Exactly, if Leibherr had done similar at Saints we would have lapped it up, and so would the local politicians.

Also, it’s been obvious since day 1 what they were doing. The FA, the Prem and all the other clubs that filled their boots with their transfer cash knew what was happening, they all played along for their own gain.

Edited 19 hours ago by aintforever

[Sarnia Cherie]

Why are Etihad Airways getting involved and threatening to sue the Premier League?  They are not mentioned in any of the charges so what are they going to sue them over? Guilty by association?

If you had irrefutable evidence supporting your case that you had done nothing wrong, as City claim, wouldn't you submit that evidence in the first place and not wait for an appeal? 

 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

1 hour ago, gio1saints said:

I’m not excusing the fraud that took place - sorry that IS taking place everywhere you look in football- starting with on the pitch cheating every single match and moving onto the brown envelops department of sports agents and even to the head - Infantino trying to sell the fucking thing like it was London Bridge! Even down to the turnstile operators letting you in for cash at Wembley. It’s fucked. Everywhere. 

I think those grasping for their pearls about this particular manifestation of corruption in football are about thirty years too late. Arguments about the industrial scale of the cheating and poor hard done by other 91 clubs fans and all the rest don’t impress me much. Man City got caught. Juventus caught caught in Calciopoly. Real Madrid should be non existent but instead have a lovely collection of CL trophies. They are all at it in one way or another. The loudest complainers probably the worst ones not caught yet. Also, fun fact : Watch fir the big clubs who say nought. They are the real big time swindlers! 

Like monopoly, but with a "Go To Jail" on every square.

[Saint86]

13 hours ago, sockeye said:

What a clown.

Our PM bought and sold by the UAE's sportswashing

Yeah, this is embarrassingly naked from him - turning a blind eye to grubby money, fraud, and corruption as long as it gets him votes. Standards out the window as long as it keeps his precious dirty millions in Manchester. Really poor from him, and the worst part is he didn't need to get involved. Out with another turd PM and in with a new one - the revolving door continues.

Have to say I agree with Neville's sentiments on it as well:

https://x.com/UtdTony1/status/2105379651925275041

Edited 10 hours ago by Saint86

[Saint86]

10 hours ago, aintforever said:

Exactly, if Leibherr had done similar at Saints we would have lapped it up, and so would the local politicians.

Also, it’s been obvious since day 1 what they were doing. The FA, the Prem and all the other clubs that filled their boots with their transfer cash knew what was happening, they all played along for their own gain.

Man City raised the cost of competing to the tune of a billion pounds, and the other clubs lapped it up "for their own gain"? Want to run that one past us again? 😅 It wasn't liverpool, man united, arsenal etc. getting the Etihad billions. But it was their player wages, transfer costs, and agents fees that were going up - and they were the ones missing out on key targets to a financially doped man city.

Edited 8 hours ago by Saint86

[Ted Bates Statue]

3 hours ago, gio1saints said:

Also, fun fact : Watch fir the big clubs who say nought. They are the real big time swindlers! 

Chelsea must be laughing right now, Abramovich only sold the club because of Ukraine and the new ownership blew the whistle on themselves. Luton got docked ten points for a trivial offence that only came to light thanks to their own whistleblowing. Pro-rata, Chelsea should have been deducted something in the region of thousands of points.

They basically serve to act as a 'look what you could have won' to Man City, could have got off scott-free just like another blue club.

1 hour ago, Saint86 said:

Yeah, this is embarrassingly naked from him - turning a blind eye to grubby money, fraud, and corruption as long as it gets him votes. Standards out the window as long as it keeps his precious dirty millions in Manchester. Really poor from him, and the worst part is he didn't need to get involved. Out with another turd PM and in with a new one - the revolving door continues.

Having heard his actual words on 5 Live I felt there was a bit more nuance than the headline suggest. Basically that he can't comment on it but referred to his own experience as a supporter of Everton's treatment before sufficient details came out over their so-called cheating. It would be ludicrous if he joined the mob to bay for blood at this point. He's the PM, not James fucking Corden.

If Abu Dhabi want to keep pumping money into the UK they are free to do so as long as they don't break the rules... my guess is they try and sell up to a friendly third party which might work in closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, but we'll see.

All this reminds me of a different timeline. Imagine if Gao was able to get money out of China and buy the Danny Ings replacement we needed, maybe we might have had other problems to worry about down the line. Suppose we managed to actually receive funds from the LD Sports "sponsorship." Would be interesting to find out what really happened there.

[Sunnyside Saint]

I wonder why they were not jumped on years ago. It was pretty clear there was dodgy dealing going on almost a decade ago, how were they allowed to run with it for so many years without intervention ? Fit and proper owners test, what a load of nonsense.

[do i not like fizzy pop]

18 hours ago, Sunglasses Ron said:

I hear Man Utd. are after a new stadium.

Red seats. Job done.

That could work really well for United, would bring them back to a stones throw from their origins at Newton Heath rail depot. 😉

[Mustang Saint]

Also a huge coincidence a year after the premier league and Uefa opened their investigations, Khaldoon joined the list of approved Uk diplomats, therefore gaining diplomatic immunity from any criminal investigation.

[suewhistle]

15 hours ago, Osvaldorama said:

WTF has it got to do with him? Bell end 

Bet they’ve paid him off as well 

He was probably asked a direct question by a journalist. The ramifications are serious however you look at it. 

Bet he wasn't paid £5 million.. Bell end.

[tdmickey3]

13 hours ago, Osvaldorama said:

Doing a little dance for anyone who invests in his precious hometown is the type of thing you see in corrupt dictatorships.

Im not sure what Farage or Lowe have to do with this, but personally I want to live in a country where integrity matters, and corruption is rooted out, not rewarded. 

How this is handled has bigger implications than just football imo. 

You are calling out imaginary corruption yet want Reform.... hahahahahahahahahaha

You are as deluded as you are mental

[trousers]

8 hours ago, Ted Bates Statue said:

Suppose we managed to actually receive funds from the LD Sports "sponsorship." Would be interesting to find out what really happened there.

Yeah, nothing untoward about that sponsorship deal at all... No-sir-ee... (Apart from the dodgy looking squirrel, and Gary "two ways to spell my surname" Diaz / Dias, of course...)

Edited 7 hours ago by trousers

[bpsaint]

[Osvaldorama]

51 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

You are calling out imaginary corruption yet want Reform.... hahahahahahahahahaha

You are as deluded as you are mental

What are you talking about? I’ve never even mentioned reform 

[Cabrone]

If they have overspent by £900M then they pay it back.

That means they have a £0 transfer budget for however many years it takes until their FFP transfer budget cumulatively gets to £900M. So for example if their FFP budget is £100M then they would face 9 seasons of a £0 transfer budget.

IMO that would be an appropriate punishment and would probably send them down the leagues in slow fashion.

[Nordic Saint]

12 hours ago, Sarnia Cherie said:

Why are Etihad Airways getting involved and threatening to sue the Premier League?  They are not mentioned in any of the charges so what are they going to sue them over? Guilty by association?

If you had irrefutable evidence supporting your case that you had done nothing wrong, as City claim, wouldn't you submit that evidence in the first place and not wait for an appeal? 

 

They are Abu Dhabi's state airline. Abu Dhabi owns Man City. They are going to threaten the Premier League in every way they possibly can.

The Emiratis have enormous political and economic influence.  If the Premier League upsets them, there will be consequences. If the other Arab nations back the Emiratis, those consequences will be even greater. 

If the Emiratis can get the Qataris, Saudis and other owners of big European clubs on board, which they probably can, they will take Man City into a new European Super League. The people who run the Premier League will be feeling very nervous right now.

The Emiratis are complaining about leaks and damaging reporting in the media. Now, where have we seen that before? They're also saying the tribunal was not impartial and fair. It was a bit fairer than ours. There wasn't an ex-Man United player on it.

Have you noticed that nobody from Man City is saying sorry? I doubt they ever will as they'll never admit they did anything wrong. They want the Premier League to apologise to them.

Right now, they'll be thinking about what punishment they can dish out to the Premier League and anyone who supports the case against Man City.

Edited 6 hours ago by Nordic Saint

[31cc]

I won't have an opinion on the matter until I hear what Middlesbrough fans have to say.

[benjii]

12 hours ago, Sarnia Cherie said:

Why are Etihad Airways getting involved and threatening to sue the Premier League?  They are not mentioned in any of the charges so what are they going to sue them over? Guilty by association?

If you had irrefutable evidence supporting your case that you had done nothing wrong, as City claim, wouldn't you submit that evidence in the first place and not wait for an appeal? 

 

It's just designed to pressure the PL. Obviously they should sue City, but they won't because they were part of the sham.

[Turkish]

46 minutes ago, Nordic Saint said:

They are Abu Dhabi's state airline. Abu Dhabi owns Man City. They are going to threaten the Premier League in every way they possibly can.

The Emiratis have enormous political and economic influence.  If the Premier League upsets them, there will be consequences. If the other Arab nations back the Emiratis, those consequences will be even greater. 

If the Emiratis can get the Qataris, Saudis and other owners of big European clubs on board, which they probably can, they will take Man City into a new European Super League. The people who run the Premier League will be feeling very nervous right now.

The Emiratis are complaining about leaks and damaging reporting in the media. Now, where have we seen that before? They're also saying the tribunal was not impartial and fair. It was a bit fairer than ours. There wasn't an ex-Man United player on it.

Have you noticed that nobody from Man City is saying sorry? I doubt they ever will as they'll never admit they did anything wrong. They want the Premier League to apologise to them.

Right now, they'll be thinking about what punishment they can dish out to the Premier League and anyone who supports the case against Man City.

That's about right sadly Dirk. The Premier league will be terrified to hit them hard because them along with a few other clubs could easily form their own European Super League, or even include some of the Saudi teams with their financial backing. Go to easy it'll make a mockery of the whole thing, go hard then the Premier league could easily implode. This isn't going to end quickly or simply and the repercussions for football in Europe let alone England.

[RedArmy]

28 minutes ago, Turkish said:

That's about right sadly Dirk. The Premier league will be terrified to hit them hard because them along with a few other clubs could easily form their own European Super League, or even include some of the Saudi teams with their financial backing. Go to easy it'll make a mockery of the whole thing, go hard then the Premier league could easily implode. This isn't going to end quickly or simply and the repercussions for football in Europe let alone England.

It’s probably the end of the premier league as we know it. 
 

If they go too easy, the other big clubs say fuck you we’ll go and set up our own super league and all spend whatever we like. 
 

If they go too hard, City and a few others will go and set up their own super league and eventually the other big clubs will join if they don’t from day 1. 

They’ve only got themselves to blame. It was obvious from very early on that they had some dodgy sponsorship deals going on (maybe not to this extent but very obviously corrupt deals), but instead of investigating it they almost turned a blind eye and let it get to the point of no return. 

 

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

People are over estimating a super league. It'll be shit and the English clubs will need thier bread and butter which is the EPL and the English pyramid.

[badgerx16]

4 minutes ago, JohnnyShearer2.0 said:

People are over estimating a super league. It'll be shit .......

Look at how LIV Golf has worked out.

[Saint86]

44 minutes ago, JohnnyShearer2.0 said:

People are over estimating a super league. It'll be shit and the English clubs will need thier bread and butter which is the EPL and the English pyramid.

The clubs themselves don't care because its all about the money - but the novelty would soon wear off for the fans when they're facing the prospect of relegation scraps and mid table obscurity every season.

[steve green]

Only just realised (I'm a bit slow) City's 1st game after the break is at Anfield.

 

Should be a watch, and listen.

[CSA96]

 

[Wade Garrett]

On 30/09/2026 at 09:54, Football Special said:

I get why clubs shouldn't be able to run up massive debts and end up like Leeds United a few years ago, but if an owner just wants to invest their own cash on their own team why shouldn't they be allowed? 

You talk as though it’s just Liverpool, Arsenal and Man Utd that brought these rules in to stop teams like City, when it was actually the entire Premier League that voted for them.

[Wade Garrett]

2 hours ago, RedArmy said:

It’s probably the end of the premier league as we know it. 
 

If they go too easy, the other big clubs say fuck you we’ll go and set up our own super league and all spend whatever we like. 
 

If they go too hard, City and a few others will go and set up their own super league and eventually the other big clubs will join if they don’t from day 1. 

They’ve only got themselves to blame. It was obvious from very early on that they had some dodgy sponsorship deals going on (maybe not to this extent but very obviously corrupt deals), but instead of investigating it they almost turned a blind eye and let it get to the point of no return. 

 

Let them.  The Saudis recently tried it with golf.  Thought they could throw ridiculous amounts of money at it and virtually buy the game.  Didn’t work out there and won’t work for football.

 

[benjii]

41 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

 

Lol. That's weak.

[Ted Bates Statue]

 

[bpsaint]

4 hours ago, JohnnyShearer2.0 said:

People are over estimating a super league. It'll be shit and the English clubs will need thier bread and butter which is the EPL and the English pyramid.

Yeah can’t see any English clubs going for it after the backlash last time it was mooted, maybe City will piss off and join the other clubs owned by Middle Eastern billionaires.

[spyinthesky]

Apparently a table has been produced that shows Man City 'owe' £500m to Prem clubs due to the loss of prize money from City's 'cheating'.
Saints are due £21m from this!!!