When you’re financed by the entire sovereign state of a Middle Eastern powerhouse, a fine of £2 million won’t have you coming out in a cold sweat. But even so, Manchester City’s Qatari owners will be feeling rather cheesed off at the size of the sanction – especially as the ‘crime’ committed could have been so easily avoided.
According to Premier League chiefs, the Cityzens were late onto the pitch – either before the kick-off or heading into the second half – some eight occasions during the 2022/23 season and an additional 14 times in 2023/24. Given that this is against rules L.32 and L.33 of the EPL rulebook, the club has been punished accordingly: with a total fine of in excess of £2 million.
Running Late
It’s doubtful that Pep Guardiola deliberately kept his players back from entering the field on time, in doing so securing them an extra period of recovery. After all, according to the Premier League, the delays ranged from just over a minute in length to just shy of three minutes.
But it’s the repeated nature of their breaches that has cheesed off the EPL’s top brass – especially as such lateness is warned against in the Premier League Handbook, the de facto rulebook for the competition.
Rule L.32
In that publication, rule L.32 states that:
Each club participating in a league match shall adhere to the kick-off time and the home club shall report any delay to the board, together with any explanation there-for.
Rule L.33
Meanwhile, rule L.33 decrees:
Any club, which without good reason, causes to be delayed either the kick-off of a league match from the time fixed or the re-start after the half-time interval, shall be dealt with under the provisions of Section W (Disciplinary) of these rules.
As per the Premier League’s ‘sanction agreement’, City were held to have delayed the start of the first or second half of their games on 22 occasions – without the ‘good reason’ detailed in rule L.33.
Shortest Breach
The shortest breach, which came against Brighton in May 2023, lasted just one minute and 17 seconds – with City still picking up a fine of £100,000 for that individual misdemeanour.
Longest Breach
The longest breach – a whopping two minute, 46 second delay before kick-off against West Ham in April 2024 – saw them fined £200,000. Meanwhile, a game against Newcastle in August 2023 saw the kick-off before both the first and second halves delayed by the City players.
Other Teams Fined for Lateness
The Premier Lague’s statement also confirmed that Manchester City had apologised for their repeated lateness, although they will certainly come under closer scrutiny as the 2024/25 campaign gets underway. Mind you, it should be noted that City aren’t the only club to be punished in this way. Crystal Palace were sanctioned in March 2023 after running up 14 delays to kick-off – they were fined £220,000.
A game against West Ham in April saw kick-off delayed by up to 15 minutes, however the Premier League accepted the Eagles’ reasoning that it was an issue with the turnstiles at Selhurst Park that forced the start to be pushed back.
The Importance of Being Punctual
It’s possible that different football fans will see the punishment as being either a bit harsh – does a one-minute delay really matter? – or fair enough, given that rules are rules for a reason. According to the Premier League, there’s good reason for the stated kick-off times to be adhered to. A spokesperson for the EPL said:
Rules relating to kick-offs and restarts help ensure the organisation of the competition is set at the highest possible professional standard and provides certainty to fans and participating clubs.
Perhaps more pertinently, from the perspective of the Premier League’s shareholders at least, is keeping broadcasters and media rights holders happy – they do pay billions of pounds for the privilege of showing the games, so it’s only fair that they kick-off as scheduled.
It’s evident that the Premier League doesn’t really want to be fining clubs in this way, which is why the list of sanctions for being late for kick-off is on a sliding scale – the first offence gets a warning, the second a £10,000 fine and so on. You can tell by City’s £2 million penalty that they have simply pushed the patience of EPL chiefs too far, too often.
Why Do All Premier League Games Start at the Same Time on the Final Day of the Season?
The EPL have also nodded to the importance of upholding the competitive integrity of their league – this is particularly crucial during the final weeks of the season. Even a delay of a couple of minutes can be enough to see one game finish later than another that was scheduled to kick off at the same time – that hands the teams playing in the later-finishing game an advantage, as they know what result they now need in their quest for silverware, promotion or in avoiding relegation.
The Coventry Caper
There was the classic caper at Coventry City’s Highfield Road Stadium back in 1977. The Sky Blues were taking on Bristol City while Sunderland were tackling Everton on the final day of the season – whoever secured the better result would condemn the other to relegation.
Sir Jimmy Hill, the then Coventry director, landed upon a ruse to delay the start of his team’s game – citing ‘congestion’ prior to kick off as the cause. Meanwhile, Sunderland’s encounter kicked off on time; they went on to lose 0-2, meaning that the Sky Blues knew a draw with Bristol City would be enough to keep them up. The remaining 15 minutes of that contest became a farce – both teams were satisfied with the point, and with the game poised at 2-2 neither side was willing to go for the win.
Generally speaking, Man City and Crystal Palace wouldn’t get away with delaying the kick off on the final day of the campaign – the referees of each Premier League game are instructed to wait until all of the teams are ready before blowing their whistle to signal the start of the first or second half; that way, the only advantage that can be gained is incidental, courtesy of a longer period of injury time.
