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Manchester City have been fined more than \u00a32m for delaying Premier League kick-offs and restarts 22 times over the past two seasons.<\/b><\/p>\n
The club accepted they had breached Premier League rules when they delayed kick-off or delayed the restart after half-time, external<\/span><\/a> on multiple occasions “without good reason”.<\/p>\n The Premier League champions delayed restarts eight times in the 2022-23 season and were fined \u00a3390,000.<\/p>\n In the 2023-24 season there were 14 breaches and fines amounting to \u00a31.7m – with the start of the second half delayed 11 times and the start of the match delayed four times.<\/p>\n The punishments ranged from a warning to the largest sanction of \u00a3200,000, which they have received for the longest delay, which saw kick-off delayed by two minutes 46 seconds in their 3-1 victory over West Ham on 19 May 2024 as they sealed a fourth consecutive Premier League title on the last day of the season.<\/p>\n Their 1-0 home victory over Newcastle on 19 August 2023, saw both kick-off and the restart delayed, while 12 of the breaches across the two seasons happened at home matches.<\/p>\n The League said the club “has apologised for the accepted breaches and confirmed that it has reminded the players and football management teams of their responsibilities”.<\/p>\n “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,” the league said. <\/p>\n “It also ensures the broadcast of all 380 League matches around the world is kept to schedule.”<\/p>\n Later this year, a Premier League disciplinary commission is expected to hear 115 charges<\/a> against City for allegedly breaching its financial regulations, some of which date back to 2009.<\/p>\n Some of those charges relate to amounts paid to City by sponsors linked to Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n The club have always strenuously denied the charges and say they are supported by a “body of irrefutable evidence”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n