Manchester City’s chief executive, Ferran Soriano, has told a meeting of the European Football Clubs board that the club will fight to prove their innocence, after an independent commission found them guilty of the vast majority of the Premier League’s 115 charges of breaching financial rules.
Soriano addressed the EFC board on Monday, saying that he disagreed with the commission’s ruling and that he and City were confident of eventually winning their battle. His willingness to speak about the guilty verdict was a surprise to other board members. He is understood to have requested permission to make a brief statement at the start of the meeting. He also noted that while eight years had passed since the allegations of financial misconduct were first made against City, it could take considerably more time for a definitive conclusion to the saga.
The EFC board includes two of City’s domestic rivals: Jean-Claude Blanc, the head of Ineos Sport and chief of international football relations at Manchester United, and the Everton owner, Dan Friedkin. Soriano declined to comment when approached by reporters after the meeting.
The guilty verdict first emerged on Friday but has yet to be confirmed publicly by either the club or the Premier League. Club executives received a broad outline of the independent commission’s findings against City last Thursday, but there has been no update since, and the verdict has not been published. The Premier League has not commented or provided any indication of when the judgment will be published.
The ongoing delay is a growing source of frustration to other clubs, who remain in the dark over the details of the case and the likely timeframe of any resolution. A number of Premier League clubs are pushing for the verdict to be published as soon as possible. One club source said on Monday: “All we have is a void, and it would be better for everyone if it was filled as soon as possible.”
Soriano’s stance mirrors that of the club’s chair, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, with both vowing to continue to fight the Premier League charges.