Man City verdict has 'implications for game's integrity' - FA

Manchester City were found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges against them

The independent commission’s verdict against Manchester City has “significant implications for the integrity of the game”, according to the Football Association.

In a statement, English football’s governing body added: “We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate.”

The FA’s statement comes after it was confirmed on Tuesday that City were found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

City have repeatedly denied guilt, and have until Friday to lodge an appeal.

“As proceedings between the Premier League and Manchester City Football Club remain ongoing, we do not intend to comment further at this stage,” the FA added.

“We will, however, continue to monitor developments closely.”

Sources told BBC Sport that City were expected to claim that key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government, rather than the club’s owners, as part of an appeal.

Among the independent panel’s findings were that City arranged “sham contracts” with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than £830m.

The Premier League says City “systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade”.

The independent commission which studied the case found City “utilised devices” to “disguise the true extent of certain club liabilities”.

The findings have prompted the Treasury Committee, which is responsible for overseeing policies and administration of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), to ask whether the government department has requested the redacted documents contained within the commission’s report.

Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the cross-party group of MPs, said she would “welcome reassurance from HMRC that you are seized of the importance of these issues and the public interest in this case”.

The letter follows a report from the Tax Policy Associates which claims City failed to pay as much as £12m in unpaid tax because of a “sham” contract with former manager Roberto Mancini.

In addition to unpaid income tax and National Insurance, the report claims City could face a penalty charge that would take their liabilities to £24m.

City will claim as part of their appeal that key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government, rather than the club’s owners.

Owners Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) - a private investment company belonging to United Arab Emirates vice-president and deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour - are said to have topped up the value of commercial deals as part of a “disguised funding scheme” to the scale of £830.69m.

This, it was argued, enabled the club to appear to comply with Premier League and Uefa financial rules.

Premier League rules allow state-owned bodies to sponsor clubs.

City’s principal sponsor Etihad Airways has said it is considering legal action against the Premier League, claiming the release of the commission findings had “damaging implications… despite the airline not being named in the redacted published findings”.

The UAE’s state-owned national airline said it “categorically rejects any finding, conclusion or implication that suggests the airline has ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements”.

Etihad is owned by sovereign wealth fund L’Imad which is chaired by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the son of the UAE president.

Why Aston Villa are playing Sevilla for a trophy you haven't heard of

Aston Villa are playing for a trophy with special meaning

On Friday evening, Aston Villa will walk out at Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium to compete for a piece of silverware that, outside of Spain, few supporters will have heard of, the Antonio Puerta Trophy.

It’s a friendly match held in memory of Sevilla academy graduate Antonio Puerta, who died in August 2007 at the age of 22.

Puerta suffered a cardiac arrest during a La Liga match against Getafe and, despite initially appearing to recover and walking to the dressing room, collapsed again and died three days later in hospital.

His death stunned Spanish football. He had been one of Sevilla’s own.

Puerta made his first-team debut during the 2003-04 season and went on to make 88 appearances for the club and one for Spain, in 2006.

He helped his team win five trophies in 15 months, including two consecutive Uefa Cups, now known as the Europa League.

A year after his death, Sevilla created a trophy in his honour and what began as a relatively modest pre-season fixture has become an annual part of the club’s calendar.

This year’s 15th edition of the Antonio Puerta Trophy is particularly interesting because Aston Villa are the first English club to be invited to play for it.

There is also an obvious connection between the two clubs.

Villa boss Unai Emery will return to the stadium where he enjoyed one of the most successful spells of his managerial career.

Emery managed Sevilla between 2013 and 2016, winning the Europa League three times in succession.

Sevilla have won 12 of the previous 14 editions of the trophy, with only Granada and Boca Juniors having managed to beat them in the fixture.

The early editions were all-Spanish affairs, with Sevilla taking on fellow La Liga clubs, before teams from outside the country began to be invited.

Boca Juniors became the first overseas opponent in 2016, followed by Roma, Schalke, Independiente del Valle, Al-Ittihad and Al-Qadsiah.

Villa’s Leon Goretzka has travelled to Sevilla after a knee injury so could be available to play.

Striker Brian Madjo is also available after being out since Villa’s 2-1 loss to Paris St-Germain in the Uefa Super Cup in August, while Taylor Harwood-Bellis will also look to get more minutes.

Why Aston Villa played Sevilla for a trophy you haven't heard of

On Friday evening, Aston Villa walked out at Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium to compete for a piece of silverware that, outside of Spain, few supporters will have heard of, the Antonio Puerta Trophy.

Unai Emery’s side won the friendly match which is held in memory of Sevilla academy graduate Antonio Puerta, who died in August 2007 at the age of 22.

Puerta suffered cardiac arrest during a La Liga match against Getafe and, despite initially appearing to recover and walking to the dressing room, collapsed again and died three days later in hospital.

His death stunned Spanish football. He had been one of Sevilla’s own.

Puerta made his first-team debut during the 2003-04 season and went on to make 88 appearances for the club and one for Spain, in 2006.

He helped his team win five trophies in 15 months, including two consecutive Uefa Cups, now known as the Europa League.

A year after his death, Sevilla created a trophy in his honour and what began as a relatively modest pre-season fixture has become an annual part of the club’s calendar.

This year’s 15th edition of the Antonio Puerta Trophy is particularly interesting because Aston Villa were the first English club to be invited to play for it.

There is also an obvious connection between the two clubs.

Villa boss Unai Emery returned to the stadium where he enjoyed one of the most successful spells of his managerial career.

Emery managed Sevilla between 2013 and 2016, winning the Europa League three times in succession.

Sevilla had won 12 of the previous 14 editions of the trophy, with only Granada and Boca Juniors having managed to beat them in the fixture.

The early editions were all-Spanish affairs, with Sevilla taking on fellow La Liga clubs, before teams from outside the country began to be invited.

Boca Juniors became the first overseas opponent in 2016, followed by Roma, Schalke, Independiente del Valle, Al-Ittihad and Al-Qadsiah.

Alejandro Garnacho was among the scorers as Aston Villa netted three times in 12 minutes in a 3-1 victory.

Isaac Romero opened the scoring for Sevilla after the break but Ross Barkley levelled before Garnacho scored and Max Jenner added a third.

Garnacho started along with centre-half Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who has made just one start since his £30m summer move from Southampton.

Villa striker Brian Madjo returned from injury as a second-half substitute, having been out since scoring on his debut against Paris St-Germain in the Super Cup in August.

HMRC urged to scrutinise tax implications of Man City case

Manchester City were found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges against them

Findings from the Premier League’s case against Manchester City require scrutiny from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the chair of a cross-party group of MPs has told the tax authority.

It was confirmed on Tuesday that an independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

City have repeatedly denied guilt, and have signalled an intent to lodge an appeal by Friday.

The club were found to have artificially inflated revenue through “sham” sponsorship agreements with the help of their owners.

The independent commission which studied the case found City “utilised devices” to “disguise the true extent of certain club liabilities”.

The Treasury Committee, which is responsible for overseeing policies and administration of HMRC, has therefore asked whether the government department has requested the redacted documents contained within the commission’s report.

Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury Committee, said she would “welcome reassurance from HMRC that you are seized of the importance of these issues and the public interest in this case”.

The letter follows a report from the Tax Policy Associates which claims City failed to pay as much as £12m in unpaid tax because of a “sham” contract with former manager Roberto Mancini.

In addition to unpaid income tax and National Insurance, the report claims City could face a penalty charge that would take their liabilities to £24m.

Manchester City will claim as part of their appeal that key sponsorship deals were funded by the Abu Dhabi government, rather than the club’s owners.

Owners Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) - a private investment company belonging to United Arab Emirates vice-president and deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour - are said to have topped up the value of commercial deals as part of a “disguised funding scheme” to the scale of £830.69m.

This, it was argued, enabled the club to appear to comply with Premier League and Uefa financial rules.

However, as first reported by the Daily Mail and Times, sources have told BBC Sport that City are expected to tell an appeal board that they have evidence showing the money directed to state-owned sponsors came from the Abu Dhabi government, rather than from ADUG.

Premier League rules allow state-owned bodies to sponsor clubs.

In its 40-page decision, the independent commission detailed how City had “denied there had ever been any disguised funding scheme of the type alleged by the Premier League. Its case was that [it] had misunderstood how Abu Dhabi sponsorship agreements had been funded… The reality was [the club contested] that Abu Dhabi sponsors had always been liable for all recorded sponsorship fees and all had in fact been paid to the club by Abu Dhabi sponsors from their own funds/resources.

“No part of any recorded sponsorship fee had been paid by ADUG or from using ADUG funds. Abu Dhabi sponsors had from time to time applied for financial assistance from the Abu Dhabi government toward their liability to pay the recorded sponsorship fees - such applications had been granted…”

The independent commission rejected this submission as “untrue”, saying: “We concluded that it was an ‘explanation’ that the club had concocted well after the event in an attempt to obscure and conceal the realities of the disguised funding scheme.”

City’s argument is likely to lead to renewed debate over the extent to which City’s ownership is separate from the Abu Dhabi state, and over the ramifications of club ownership with state connections.

Mansour is a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, and the brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Since the takeover in 2008, City have insisted the club is a completely private enterprise, and not state-owned. However, some critics have questioned the distinction, with human rights campaigners claiming the ownership of City has been used to “sportswash” the UAE.

On Saturday, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak referred to “irrefutable evidence” that he claimed supports the club’s claims of innocence. City have claimed the commission’s decision contained “clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe”.

It has emerged that Al Mubarak, who was appointed chairman of City following the takeover in 2008, is named as an Emirati diplomat on the UK government’s current directory of all foreign representatives.

Representatives of foreign states and their diplomatic staff “enjoy privileges and immunities under the Diplomatic Privileges Act (1964)”, giving diplomats immunity from prosecution under criminal, civil and administrative laws.

City’s principal sponsor Etihad Airways has said it is considering legal action against the Premier League, claiming the release of the commission findings had “damaging implications… despite the airline not being named in the redacted published findings”.

The UAE’s state-owned national airline said it “categorically rejects any finding, conclusion or implication that suggests the airline has ever been involved in improper commercial arrangements”.

Etihad is owned by sovereign wealth fund L’Imad which is chaired by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the son of the UAE president.

Additional reporting from James Landale, diplomatic correspondent for BBC News.

Leicester sign ex-Southampton midfielder Smallbone

Leicester City have signed Republic of Ireland midfielder Will Smallbone on a three-year contract.

Smallbone previously played under Foxes boss Russell Martin at Southampton.

The 26-year-old joined the Saints aged eight and his 18-year association with the club ended in the summer.

“I’m hungry and looking forward to being at Leicester City,” Smallbone told Leicester’s website.

“I have spent a long time playing under the manager previously, I know a few of the boys here and I’ve played against a few of them in my time so I think that should help me to settle in quite quickly.”