Manchester City have been fined £2million for delaying Premier League kick-offs and restarts 22 times over the last two seasons.
The Premier League side say City delayed kick-offs 14 times during their title-winning campaign last season.
City have apologised for the breaches and agreed to pay the £2.09 fine to the Premier League and say they have reminded players and staff of their responsibilities.
The punishment is not related to the 115 charges City are facing for alleged breaches of the competition’s financial regulations.
BREAKING: Manchester City have been fined just over £2m by Premier League for breaking kick-off rules in 22 separate incidents over the last two seasons 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Mgg7I3bINM
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 31, 2024
A Premier League statement 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 kick-off and re-start obligations.
“Rules relating to kick-offs and re-starts help ensure the organisation of the competition is set at the highest possible professional standard and provides certainty to fans and participating clubs.
“It also ensures the broadcast of all 380 League matches around the world is kept to schedule.
“As required by the Premier League Rules, the sanction agreement has been ratified by three members of the Independent Judicial Panel.”
City have been punished on a sliding scale for each offence.
They were found to have delayed restarts by 39 mins and 52 seconds in total in 23 late kick-offs across 22 games in the last two seasons.
Their longest delay was during their 4-1 win over West Ham on the final day of the 2023-24 season, when they clinched the title.
