Guardiola's Manchester City Hit with £2 Million Fine for Kick-Off Delays

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have been fined more than £2 million by the Premier League for delays in kick-offs.

The penalty follows a sanction agreement with the league concerning 22 separate charges related to delays over the past two seasons. Notably, City were found to have delayed the kick-off to the second half of their final game of the previous season against West Ham by 2 minutes and 46 seconds. This match was pivotal as it marked City's achievement of their fourth consecutive title.

Fines imposed vary, ranging from £10,000 for initial offenses to £200,000 for the West Ham fixture. Of the 22 incidents, 18 involved delays in restarts after halftime, including a specific delay in a match against Newcastle United in August 2023.

City have accepted the Premier League's decision, which has been ratified by a three-person independent panel. The Premier League stated: "The breaches relate to a number of Premier League matches during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons." The league emphasized that "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. It also ensures the broadcast of all 380 League matches around the world is kept to schedule."

In total, City were found to have delayed restarts by 39 minutes and 52 seconds across 23 late kick-offs in 22 games over the past two seasons. The most significant delay occurred during the West Ham match, where the second half was postponed. Other major delays included a 2-minute and 33-second delay in a December 2022 match against Everton and a 2-minute and 34-second delay in the home game against Newcastle in August 2023. This Newcastle game also experienced a delay of 1 minute and 17 seconds in the second half, leading to 23 instances of delays across 22 games.

The agreement confirms that Manchester City has apologized for these breaches and has reminded their players and football management teams of their obligations under Rule L.33. The fine must be paid within 14 days of the execution of this Sanction Agreement.