Man City fined £2m for delaying kick-offs 22 times

The reigning Premier League champions have faced significant fines due to repeated delays in restarting matches during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. In the 2022-23 season, they were fined £390,000 for delaying restarts on eight occasions. The following season, the club was fined £1.7 million for 14 breaches, including 11 delayed second-half starts and four delayed match kick-offs.

The penalties escalated from a warning for the first offense, which occurred during a match against Crystal Palace on 27 August 2022, to a £200,000 fine for the longest delay of two minutes and 46 seconds during their 3-1 victory over West Ham on 19 May 2024. This match secured their fourth consecutive Premier League title on the final day of the season.

Delays were also recorded during their 1-0 home win against Newcastle on 19 August 2023, where both the kick-off and restart were delayed. Notably, 12 of the 14 breaches over the two seasons occurred during home matches.

In March 2023, the league’s independent disciplinary commission imposed a £220,000 fine on Crystal Palace, with £70,000 suspended, for delays in two games in October 2022. These marked Palace’s 13th and 14th breaches across two seasons.

Furthermore, later this year, a Premier League disciplinary commission is set to review 115 charges against the club for allegedly breaching financial regulations, some of which trace back to 2009. These charges include concerns over payments from sponsors connected to Abu Dhabi.