Manchester City fined over £2 million for repeated kick-off delays

Victor Petkov

Head of Content

Last Updated: Jul 31 | 3:01 PM

4 min read

Manchester City fined over £2 million for repeated kick-off delays

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The Citizens have delayed starting of a first or second half 22 times in total for two seasons

Manchester City has been fined more than £2 million for delaying Premier League kick-offs and restarts 22 times over the past two seasons.

The Premier League champions accepted they had breached rules on multiple occasions by delaying kick-offs and restarts without good reason.

BREAKING: Manchester City have been fined just over £2m by Premier League for breaking kick-off rules in 22 separate incidents over the last two seasons 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Mgg7I3bINM

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 31, 2024

2022-23 Season:

8 instances of delayed restarts.
Total fines: £390,000.

2023-24 Season:

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14 breaches, including delays to the start of the second half (11 times) and the start of the match (4 times).
Total fines: £1.7 million.

The largest fine was £200,000 for the longest delay, which saw kick-off delayed by two minutes and 46 seconds in their 3-1 victory over West Ham on May 19, 2024, a match that secured their fourth consecutive Premier League title.

One notable incident occurred during their 1-0 home victory over Newcastle on August 19, 2023, where both the kick-off and the restart were delayed. Out of the 22 breaches, 12 took place at home matches.

The Premier League emphasized the importance of adhering to kick-off and restart schedules to maintain the highest professional standards and ensure certainty for fans and participating clubs. They also highlighted the necessity to keep the broadcast of all 380 league matches on schedule.

“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,” the Premier League stated. “It also ensures the broadcast of all 380 League matches around the world is kept to schedule.”

Manchester City has apologized for the accepted breaches and confirmed that it has reminded its players and football management teams of their responsibilities.

Later this year, Manchester City is expected to face a Premier League disciplinary commission for 115 charges of allegedly breaching financial regulations, some of which date back to 2009.