Manchester City Hit with £2 Million Fine for Delayed Restarts

Manchester City has been fined over £2 million ($2.5 million) by the Premier League for repeatedly delaying kickoffs or restarts in matches. The club accepted the penalty for 22 violations over the last two seasons, unrelated to the 115 charges they face for alleged breaches of financial regulations.

A Premier League statement on Wednesday confirmed: “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.”

The fines were imposed on a sliding scale for each offense. The initial breach, a delay of 1 minute and 18 seconds at the start of the second half against Crystal Palace in August 2022, resulted in a warning. The longest delay was 2 minutes and 46 seconds for the final league game against West Ham last season, for which City was fined £200,000 ($256,000). This game saw City secure their fourth successive title. In total, the fines amounted to £2.09 million.

The Premier League's statement emphasized the importance of kickoff and restart rules in maintaining professional standards and ensuring the global broadcast schedule of all 380 league matches remains intact.

It added that 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."