LONDON (AP) — Manchester City has been fined more than 2 million pounds ($2.5 million) by the Premier League for 22 instances of delaying the kickoff or restart of matches.
City accepted the sanction, which relates to rule infringements over the last two seasons. The issue is not connected to the 115 charges City are facing for alleged breaches of the competition’s financial regulations.
A statement Wednesday from the Premier League said: “The Premier League and Manchester City FC have entered into a sanction agreement after the club accepted it had breached Premier League Rule L.33 relating to kickoff and restart obligations.”
City has been punished on a sliding scale for each offense. Their first, a delay of 1 minute, 18 seconds to the start of the second half against Crystal Palace in August 2022, incurred a warning.
Fines have then been imposed for each subsequent breach. The longest delay was 2 minutes, 46 seconds for the start of the final league game against West Ham last season, when City clinched a fourth successive title. City was fined 200,000 pounds ($256,000) for that 14th breach of the season.
City was fined a total of 2.09 million pounds.
“Rules relating to kickoffs and restarts help ensure the organization of the competition is set at the highest possible professional standard and provides certainty to fans and participating clubs,” the Premier League statement said. “It also ensures the broadcast of all 380 league matches around the world is kept to schedule.”
It said City “has apologized for the accepted breaches… and confirmed that it has reminded the club’s players and football management teams of their responsibilities in complying with Rule L.33.”
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