- City have reached a sanction agreement with the league for 22 separate incidents
- In the title match against West Ham, the game was delayed for almost three minutes
- Fines range from £10,000 to £200,000 and the city accepted the decision.
The Premier League has fined Manchester City more than £2m for delaying the start of its matches.
The champions reached a sanction agreement with the league on 22 separate charges, all related to the past two seasons.
City were ruled to have delayed the start of the second half of their final game of last season, a win over West Ham, by two minutes and 46 seconds on the day they secured their fourth successive title.
Fines range from £10,000 to £200,000, with the lowest being for a first offence and the highest resulting from the match against West Ham.
18 of the incidents were related to restarts after half-time, with delays in the start of the match (against Newcastle United last August).
Premier League fined Manchester City more than £2m for delaying start of matches
City accepted the Premier League’s decision, which was ratified by an independent three-person panel.
“The infringements relate to a number of Premier League matches during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons,” the Premier League said in a statement.
‘The rules regarding starts and restarts help to ensure that the competition is organised to the highest possible professional standard and provide security for fans and participating clubs.
‘It also ensures that the broadcast of the League’s 380 matches around the world continues as scheduled.’
A hearing on 115 counts of alleged financial violations, a much more serious case, is expected to be held in the city in the coming months.
The city declined to comment.
