Manchester City Fined £1.24 Million for Repeated Kick-Off Delays
Manchester City has been slapped with a £1.24 million fine by the Premier League for breaching kick-off rules a staggering 22 times across the 2023/24 season.
The reigning Premier League champions were found guilty of delaying both first and second-half kick-offs without justifiable cause on multiple occasions. The Premier League has a strict rule in place that mandates timely kick-offs to maintain professional standards and ensure a smooth broadcasting experience for fans worldwide.
A statement on Wednesday read: “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.
“The breaches relate to several Premier League matches during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons.
“Rules relating to kick-offs and re-starts help ensure the organization 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.
“Click here to read the sanction agreement. As required by the Premier League Rules, the sanction agreement has been ratified by three members of the Independent Judicial Panel.”
The relevant rule set out by the Premier League Regulations: “Any club which without good reason causes a delay in either the kick-off of a league match from the appointed time or the restart after half-time shall be dealt with. according to the provisions of section W (Punishment) of this order.’
The Premier League’s written reasons show that Manchester City have agreed to a £1.24m fine for their breach during the 2023/24 campaign.
