英超周二表示，曼彻斯特城近十年来利用“虚假”商业合同，通过一系列手段虚增收入、少计成本，金额超过9亿英镑。此前，一个独立委员会裁定该俱乐部严重违反财务规则。
Manchester City used “sham” commercial contracts as part of schemes to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than £900 million over nearly a decade, the Premier League said on Tuesday after an independent commission ruled the club guilty of serious breaches of financial rules.
委员会认定，在2009-10赛季至2017-18赛季的九个赛季中，曼城违反了英超财务规则，被判所有相关指控成立；在其未配合调查的四项指控中，也有三项成立。
The commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the league’s financial rules over nine seasons, between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 campaigns, as well as three of four charges concerning their failure to cooperate with the investigation.
该俱乐部否认存在不当行为，并在声明中表示，将提出申诉，“理由是该意见在法律、原则和事实层面存在明显且重大的错误，因而不可靠”。
The club, which denies wrongdoing, said in a statement it would appeal “on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe”.
目前尚未实施任何处罚，这家过去十年主宰英格兰足坛的俱乐部可能面临的后果仍悬而未决。
No sanction has yet been imposed, leaving unresolved the potential consequences for a club that has dominated English football over the past decade.
严厉处罚可能影响过去和未来几个赛季的冠军争夺、欧战资格，以及数千万英镑奖金的分配。此案还引发了更广泛的问题，涉及财务治理、竞争诚信，以及英超追究其最有权势俱乐部责任的能力。
A significant punishment could affect past and future title races, European qualification and the distribution of tens of millions of pounds in prize money. The case has also raised wider questions about financial governance, competitive integrity and the Premier League’s ability to hold its most powerful clubs to account.
英超表示，独立委员会发现，曼城安排了“虚假”合同，歪曲了与多家商业伙伴签订的实际协议，并与其他合作方达成类似协议，以虚增收入、人为降低成本。
An independent commission found that City arranged “sham” contracts that misrepresented the true agreements with several commercial partners and relied on similar agreements with others to inflate their revenue and reduce costs artificially, the league said.
委员会发现，多家赞助商只需支付相关协议所列费用的一部分，剩余部分则由俱乐部所有者阿布扎比联合集团投资与发展有限公司（ADUG）提供。
It found that several sponsors were required to pay only part of the fees recorded in the relevant agreements, with the balance supplied by the club’s owner Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG).
委员会还查明，ADUG出资安排，使曼城能够记录较低的运营开支。
The commission also identified arrangements funded by ADUG that allowed City to record lower operating expenses.
英超表示，这些做法虚增了曼城收入并降低了成本，制造出该俱乐部遵守财务规定的假象。
The schemes inflated City’s revenue and reduced their costs, creating the appearance that the club complied with financial regulations, the league said.
报告还发现，俱乐部方面有多名证人在持续42天的听证会上作了伪证，有些人还故意误导了调查委员会。
The report also found that a number of the club’s witnesses presented false evidence at the hearing, which ran for 42 days, and some knowingly misled the commission.
委员会认定，如果相关协议得到准确申报，曼城将“大幅超过”英超和欧足联规定的支出上限。
The commission concluded that City would have breached both the Premier League’s and Uefa’s spending limits “by a very substantial amount” had the agreements been reported accurately.
英超首席执行官理查德·马斯特斯说：“核心决定……详细说明了该俱乐部近十年来是如何系统性违反英超规则的。”
“The core decision … details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade,” Richard Masters, the Premier League’s CEO, said.
马斯特斯将本案及裁决称为“英超历史上最重大的案件”，但表示一些关键问题仍未解决，尤其是将要实施的制裁。
Masters described the case and decision as “the most significant in Premier League history” but said key elements remained unresolved, most notably the sanction to be imposed.
他说：“现在我们已收到委员会的决定，将承诺尽快完成余下程序，为联赛、我们的俱乐部和球迷提供明确的结论。”曼城表示，他们对委员会的意见感到失望和意外。
“Now we have the commission’s decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans,” he said. City said they were disappointed and surprised by the commission’s opinion.
俱乐部说：“对于英超提出的各项指控，曼城均属无辜，并有大量不可反驳的全面证据支持本案中俱乐部的所有立场。”
“The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case,” it said.
“曼城足球俱乐部现在将启动可供其使用的上诉渠道，理由是该意见在法律、原则和事实方面存在明显的实质性错误，因而不可靠。”俱乐部须在周五前提交上诉申请。当路透社询问曼城提起上诉是否会自动暂停任何制裁时，英超的一名代表表示，由于保密规定，他们无法“深入讨论具体程序”。
“Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.”The club has until Friday to lodge an appeal. When asked by Reuters whether an appeal by City would automatically suspend any sanction, a league representative said they could not “get into the process” because of confidentiality.
曼城首席执行官 ferran·索里亚诺在一段视频中向员工发表讲话，否认了有关指控，并指责委员会支持英超的“阴谋论”。
City chief executive Ferran Soriano addressed staff in a video in which he rejected the allegations and accused the commission of supporting the league’s “conspiracy theory”.
索里亚诺说：“英超针对我们的整个案件都建立在单一虚假指控之上，即声称所有者的个人资金不知通过何种方式，借由阿布扎比的一些赞助商秘密注入俱乐部。”
“The whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation, that the owner’s personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi,” Soriano said.
“这完全不是事实。我们已经向英超委员会提供了不可辩驳的证据，证明这件事不可能发生，而且事实上也没有发生。”这一消息是在哥本哈根举行的欧洲足球俱乐部大会接近尾声时公布的，导致英格兰俱乐部代表在最后几分钟里纷纷查看手机。
“This is just not true. Irrefutable evidence has been provided to the Premier League commission that shows it could not happen and that it did not happen.”The announcement came near the end of the European Football Clubs general assembly in Copenhagen, leaving representatives of English clubs checking their phones during the closing minutes.
阿森纳和诺丁汉森林的代表在媒体问及时拒绝置评。曼联一名代表在路透社联系时也拒绝置评。
Representatives of Arsenal and Nottingham Forest declined to comment when approached. A Manchester United representative also declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
欧洲足球俱乐部组织主席纳赛尔·阿尔-赫拉菲对此案暂不发表评论，并称赞了索里亚诺作为该组织董事会成员的工作。
EFC Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi reserved judgment on the case and praised Soriano’s work as an EFC board member.
“你知道，他整个职业生涯积累的知识非常丰富。因此，我认为他们也做了许多积极的事情，”阿尔-赫拉菲说。
“His knowledge, you know, throughout his career is fantastic. That’s why I think they did a lot of positive things also,” Al-Khelaifi said.
英国体育大臣丽莎·南迪表示，英超的报告“极其严峻”，并呼吁迅速、公平地了结此案。
British sports minister Lisa Nandy said the league’s report was “incredibly stark” and called for a swift and fair conclusion to the case.
“这不仅让曼城球迷深感担忧，也显然让所有英超球迷深感担忧，”她告诉英国广播公司。
“This is not only causing a lot of concern for Manchester City fans. It’s also obviously causing a lot of concern for all fans of Premier League football,” she told the BBC.
“英超是我们最珍贵的瑰宝之一。我们需要看到调查迅速、公平地结束，尤其是要迅速完成，因为我们需要维护这项运动的诚信。”伦敦Church Court Chambers专门从事体育法律事务的出庭律师亚辛·帕特尔表示，他预计曼城将“全力运用法律手段”应战。“第一回合是英超获胜，第二回合开始吧，”他补充道。
“Premier League is one of our crown jewels. We need to see the investigation concluded swiftly and fairly, but swiftly particularly because we need to uphold the integrity of the game.”Yasin Patel, a barrister specialising in sports law at London’s Church Court Chambers, said he expected City to fight “with all their legal might.”“Round one was to the Premier League, let round two begin,” he added.