Sunderland

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Manchester City have responded to the Premier League's confirmation that the club has been found guilty of breaching 115 financial rules.

City have until Friday to appeal the decision but in a statement said: "Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today.

"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. The club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.

"The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. 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 diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.

"The club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete."

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Manchester City arranged "sham contracts" with a number of its commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than £830m, the Premier League says.

The League confirmed that City have been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

An independent commission found that, during that time period, the club arranged the "sham contracts" as well as "relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs".

The club continues to deny any wrongdoing and has until Friday to appeal.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: "The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.

"It also vindicates the Premier League's decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently.

"It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the Rules, approved by the clubs themselves, are upheld to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans. We take that role extremely seriously.

"This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history. There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches. 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."

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Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Unbelievably, sensible and well-informed people are seriously discussing Manchester City getting a huge points deduction or being demoted or kicked out of the English leagues completely.

‌There is also reasonable talk about them being sued by just about every other major club in the domestic game, and a few beyond that. That is before you get to the concept of titles being stripped and trophies retrospectively re-awarded to others.

There is still an appeal to be heard, but they have been found guilty already. Serious consequences must be considered. Following the draconian punishments handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest, among others, City might find they don't just have the book thrown at them, it is the entire British Library lobbed in their general direction.

Those other clubs cooperated in the process. City have faced more charges and they involve larger sums and over a longer time period. In short, things are not looking good for the club that dominated English football for almost a decade.

This may be the biggest story in the Premier League's history and it is going to run and run.

Other serious considerations will follow hard on the heels of the Blues' dilemmas – specifically what long-term effects will this have on the Premier League? They will not all be good ones.

Some reasonably argue that the financial rules City have been found to have broken shouldn't have been put there in the first place. They were brought in to safeguard the financial security of the clubs and the league, but try telling that to many City, Everton and Nottingham Forest fans just now.

Newcastle and Aston Villa have plenty of financial backing, but these rules have hurt their ability to grow and stay competitive with the legacy clubs. This all feels unfair if you are a supporter of those two.

The money that will now be frittered away by the English game on lawyers and legal fees is eye-watering, and it will grow exponentially as the litigation increases.

Pat Nevin writes weekly in the Football Extra newsletter. If you're outside the UK and would like to receive it, sign up here.

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We asked you to rate Sunderland's start to the season and tell us what Regis le Bris should be focusing on during this extended international break.

Here are some of your comments:

Simon: Not too worried about points tally as our performances have been great and we are obviously competitive against the top teams. Concerns, as we all have, about goals, but hopefully Brobbey's hat-trick was the start of a 20 league goals season for him.

Stuart: Superb start. Took a few games but the defence is starting to look like the incredibly tight ship we're getting used to. Consistency is what impressed last season, and first few weeks' results won't define the season.

Andrew: It's been a tough start but we have equipped ourselves well against the top teams. With European football, I can see a mid-table finish. Some very important extended contracts signed.

Michael: I'd be hard-pressed to say too much negative about us at this point in the season. It'd be good to have a few more points on the board, but we've clearly shown we're not afraid of the bigger games, and we're finally showing some of the clinical finishing we've needed for so long. If we can tidy up the defensive lines and be stronger when we're against the counter-attack, I'd be thrilled. Brighton will be a good first test of this. All in all, solid performances in need of a few more results, but we're always a work in progress.

Mark: It's a decent start I'd imagine most Sunderland fans would struggle to find much, if anything, to moan about.

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Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey has been replaced by Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee in the Netherlands' squad for the remainder of the international break.

Brobbey, who has been named in Regis le Bris' starting XI for every Premier League fixture so far this season, was forced off with an apparent muscle injury in the first half of the Netherlands' 1-1 draw with Germany on Thursday.

The 24-year-old will return to Sunderland for treatment.

Brobbey went into the three-week break off the back of a hat-trick in Sunderland's 5-3 defeat by Manchester City.

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Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini says Enzo le Fee "is a huge asset" to the Black Cats after the attacking midfielder signed a new deal until 2031.

Le Fee, who joined permanently from Roma following promotion to the Premier League, has scored nine goals and provided 10 assists in 64 appearances for the club.

"It's good news because there has been a lot of anxiety around Brian Brobbey and Le Fee's recent performances, with people asking whether Sunderland can keep hold of them," said Gabbiadini on BBC Radio Newcastle.

"He's one of those players that is just a fans' favourite because of the quality that he brings and the character he shows on the field.

"He's quite a calm person, but when he gets on the field he wants to express himself and be on the ball to play those killer passes that quite often slice open defences.

"He's a huge asset to Sunderland and him signing was a real turning point in the club's progress.

"Is he going to be here for the next four years? I really hope so, but if he carries on the trajectory he's on at the moment then it would mean the club would have to constantly be in European spots.

"Players are ambitious and they want to play at the highest level. They want to test themselves against the best. But that's the more cold-hearted view on it and we just need to see what happens."

Hit play below to hear the full clip or listen on BBC Sounds here

As we enter the season's first international break, we want to hear your thoughts on the opening five games in the Premier League.

Regis le Bris' side have lost three of their first five games - winning just once - but those include spirited performances in defeat against Manchester City and Arsenal.

They sit 14th going into the extended break and the Black Cats also won their Europa League opener to make a victorious start to their first European campaign for 53 years.

How do you rate the Black Cats' start to the season and why? And what should Le Bris be focusing on during the extended break?

Get in touch with your views here

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We asked for your views on the importance for Sunderland to tie Enzo le Fee down to a new contract and how you would rate his time at the club so far.

Here are some of your comments:

Dave: He's our most creative player. He could play for any of the top clubs in the Premier League, he's that good! And we are very lucky he's signed a new long-term deal. The club are really doing everything to progress our club and we as supporters should continue to support and believe in what they are doing.

Andrew: Great news for both club and player. More wages and bonuses for the player and a longer contract, so clubs have to pay more to buy him.

Jura: Enzo is a massively talented player who is consistent and continuously improving. He has superb close control, he can receive the ball under high pressure and spin away on a dime, then thread defence-splitting through-balls, and that's without mentioning his dribbling and dead-ball skills. He's a massive asset to our club.

Ged: He just gets better and better! Nobody is going to move him out of his current position. Can you think of a better Sunderland player in that position ever??

Josh: Huge part of our squad, these contract deals are as important as transfers.

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

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The penalty awarded to Sunderland against Arsenal earlier this month should not have been given, the Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel has ruled.

However, the KMI panel also felt the error did not reach the threshold for a video assistant referee intervention.

Referee John Brooks pointed to the spot in the 54th minute for a holding offence by Ezri Konsa on Dan Ballard, but Gunners goalkeeper David Raya then saved Enzo le Fee's spot-kick.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was furious after the match, even though his side went on to win the game 2-0, saying the match "was unprotected".

"It's a judo roll from the opponent. Ezri [Konsa] does nothing. Just watch it," Arteta told BBC Match of the Day.

"We have a lot of cameras and VAR, we have to take responsibility to protect the game.

"Today the game was unprotected and it could have cost us the game and the momentum which is a really, really serious thing."

The five members of the KMI panel unanimously voted that the spot-kick should not have been given, with a split 3:2 vote in support of no VAR review.

"Although it was a very untidy challenge in which Konsa initially had arms around Ballard, Ballard engages in a holding action which pulls Konsa onto him so they both fall to the floor," the KMI panel noted.

"The non-VAR intervention was supported, with the majority considering that the on-field decision was not a clear and obvious error, given the combined actions from both players."

It is possible for the KMI panel to reach what would appear to be contradictory judgements.

The vote on the on-field call assesses what the best outcome should be.

But the VAR vote considers whether the on-field call can be justified, taking into account what the referee has seen and the available replays.

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Sunderland's Enzo le Fee says "this is just the beginning" of his journey with the club after signing a new deal until 2031.

Le Fee joined the Black Cats initially on loan from Roma in January 2025, making the move permanent in the summer after Regis le Bris' side achieved promotion to the Premier League.

The 26-year-old attacking midfielder has scored nine goals and provided 10 assists in 64 appearances for the club, including the Sunderland's first European goal in 53 years in their Europa League win over AZ Alkmaar earlier in September.

"I'm really happy to have signed a new contract with Sunderland," said Le Fee.

"From the moment I arrived, I've felt the passion of the supporters and the ambition of everyone at the club - I've loved my time here.

"We've achieved something special together over the past couple of seasons, but I believe this is just the beginning. I feel very settled here and I'm excited to continue developing, competing at the highest level and helping the club move forward.

"I'm very proud to wear the Sunderland shirt and I can't wait to see what we can achieve together in the years ahead."

Sunderland director of football Florent Ghisolfi added: "Enzo is a very important player for us, but also an important person within our group.

"He has quality, intelligence and personality, but what we value just as much is his humility and the way he represents Sunderland every day."

Sunderland fans, how important was securing Le Fee's future at the club? Does it show the ambition of the hierarchy? And how would you rate his time on Wearside so far?

Get in touch with your views here

Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini is confident that, with confidence, forward Brian Brobbey will continue to score goals.

The 24-year-old bagged a hat-trick against Manchester City for the Black Cats on Sunday, but was still on the losing side.

Brobbey, who was at the World Cup with the Netherlands in the summer, scored seven Premier League goals last season, but had failed to find the net in the first four games of this campaign.

"They were not spectacular goals - it was good finishing and being in the right place," Gabbiadini told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"It was a good performance, as there has been a lot of talk about his goals output. He's the type of player who has scored goals in the past.

"His ratio would be one in two, one in three, in his best spells. It can happen and he just needs a bit of confidence.

"He may need to score the odd spectacular goal and trust his shooting more - those goals that come from nothing."

Hit play above to hear the full clip or listen on BBC Sounds here

Although Sunderland's players trudged off the Etihad Stadium pitch with zero points to add to their league total, they had arguably helped produce the game of the season so far.

BBC Radio Newcastle's Sunderland commentator Nick Barnes said: "We witnessed a classic. Breathtaking. Breathless. You couldn't take your eye off this game."

Meanwhile, former Black Cats defender Gary Bennett described Manchester City's 5-3 victory as "a great advert for the Premier League" and "two teams going at it with quality football".

He added: "We know where we have gone wrong. Mistakes were punished - simple as that. Going forward, we have caused them problems and that's the encouraging thing.

"Last week, we gave Arsenal a game and we gave Manchester City a game. If we perform like this and cut the mistakes out, we won't be far wrong. We have come away with a lot of positives."

One of those positives was Brian Brobbey's hat-trick, which moved him into joint third on the Premier League's top-scorers list.

Only City's Erling Haaland (five) and Liverpool's Alexander Isak (four) have scored more in the top flight this season.

Hit play above to hear more post-match analysis or listen on BBC Sounds here

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Manchester City and Sunderland

Here are some of your comments:

Man City fans

Youssef: We fought, we battled, we won. What a perfect performance by the lads and what a magnificent way to capitalise on Arsenal's loss yesterday and secure ourselves at the top of the table.

Owain: Brilliant going forward but suspect at the back. Sunderland were a credit and gave us a real test. Brian Brobbey will be a very good player in the near future. Thought we were pressurised and our passes went astray too often. We now have three good wide options. I like Enzo Fernandez, and I hope the Semenyo-distracted will leave him alone. Looked very impressive and deserved his player of the match.

Robert: Absolute credit to Sunderland who came to the Etihad to play football and not put 10-men behind the ball. They made this game what it was, very entertaining and worth watching.

Phil: Didn't want to sign Enzo, but what a player. Him and Elliott Anderson were outstanding.

Sunderland fans

Stuart: Although our defending was poor, the way we went toe-to-toe with City and caused them so many problems makes me proud. I think a lot of neutrals will enjoy watching Sunderland this season.

Mason: A swashbuckling approach that took City by surprise. Individual defensive errors cost Sunderland but overall it was a performance which showed they could go toe-to-toe with the best. Cut out those mistakes and it will soon click.

Mark: Another incredibly spirited display - my goodness, this team has character. The results will come.

David: Can't believe Sunderland have only four points - not many teams will come to the Etihad and score three! They have got the verve, commitment and fire-power to have a really good season. Keep trying, Mackems!

Former Sunderland and current Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo, speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle after Sunday's 5-3 win over the Black Cats: "We knew if we controlled them as much as we can we could get the three points.

"It wasn't easy. They made it very, very tough for us.

"We're building a culture and still adjusting, but we're all happy. It's togetherness and sticking together.

"The message from the manager is to win and be at the top of the table by the end of the game."

On netting twice against his former side, he added: "It's crazy. It's so long since I played for them, but happy to win."

Hit play above to hear more from Semenyo or listen on BBC Sounds here

Sunderland starting XI:

Robin Roefs: Will be disappointed for the first goal. Tried to anticipate Enzo Fernandez sending in a cross but instead found himself being beaten at his near post. 4

Nordi Mukiele: A tough game up against Antoine Semenyo, who scored twice. 5

Kevin Danso: Poor clearance contributed to Manchester City winning the ball back high up the pitch for Cherki's goal. 5

Dan Ballard: Part of a backline that conceded three goals in the opening 45 minutes. 5

Dayann Methalie: Booked inside 10 minutes of his Premier League debut and given a difficult game by Iliman Ndiaye. 5

Granit Xhaka: The skipper helped his side get back on level terms twice in the game, but ultimately went home with nothing. 6

Noah Sadiki: Eyes opened up when he found space to shoot after darting forward, but blazed his effort high and wide. 6

Thomas Meunier: The former Belgium international could have had a shot for the second goal but instead laid it on a plate for Brian Brobbey to finish. 7

Enzo le Fee: The French passmaster fizzed a lovely ball into the feet of Brobbey for Sunderland's equaliser and his cleverly disguised pass led to his side's second. 8

Nilson Angulo: Could have made a name for himself but scuffed a golden chance wide in the opening five minutes. Provided the assist for Brobbey's third goal. 6

Brian Brobbey: The hat-trick hero. Three finishes from close range but the Dutchman will be gutted at leaving with the match ball but no points. 10

Sunderland substitutes:

Malick Fofana (on 60, Angulo): Unable to showcase his talent in the half an hour he was on the field. 6

Wilson Isidor (on 68, Sadiki): Regis Le Bris went for it with two up top but the Haitian could not find a goal. 6

Trai Hume (on 79, Meunier) 6

Subs not used:

Elborg, Talbi, Ridd, O'Nien, Alderete, Ahoka

Read the full article and see how you rated the players