Premier League fines Man City £1m for repeated kick-off delays

LONDON, June 20 — Manchester City have been fined more than £1 million (RM5.73 million) by the Premier League over delayed kick-offs in nine matches last season.
Premier League officials announced yesterday that Pep Guardiola's side had breached rules around kick-off and restart times between October and February.
The longest delay was two minutes and 24 seconds before the resumption of the Manchester derby at Old Trafford in December.
The Premier League said City had accepted the breaches and apologised for the incidents.
The fines total £1.08 million ($1.45 million).
'Rules relating to kick-offs and restarts help ensure the organisation of the competition is set at the highest possible professional standard and provides certainty to fans and participating clubs,' a Premier League statement said.
'It also ensures the broadcast of every Premier League match is kept to schedule.'
It is not the first time City have been in trouble for their tardy kick-offs.
The club were fined more than £2 million last year for 22 breaches of the kick-off and restart rules.
Guardiola's men finished third in the Premier League last season as their four-year reign as champions came to an end.
City, who also suffered a shock FA Cup final defeat against Crystal Palace, are currently playing in the Club World Cup in the United States. — AFP

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Malay Mail

2 hours ago

• Malay Mail

Salah eyes ‘Player of the Year' double with PFA nod after writers' award win

LONDON, June 20 — Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was among six players nominated for the Professional Footballers' Association Men's Player of the Year award today. The 33-year-old played a key role in Liverpool's Premier League title triumph last season with 29 goals and 18 assists. The Egypt star was voted Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers' Association — securing almost 90 per cent of the votes, marking the biggest winning margin this century — and is the firm favourite to land the PFA prize. Salah is joined on the shortlist by Liverpool team-mate Alexis Mac Allister, Arsenal's Declan Rice, Cole Palmer of Chelsea, Newcastle striker Alexander Isak and Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes. Palmer, who won the PFA Young Player of the Year award for 2023-24, was a surprise choice for the list given his struggles for Chelsea last season. Rice starred in midfield for Arsenal, hitting a career-high nine goals while adding 10 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions. Sweden striker Isak scored 23 goals for Newcastle as they qualified for the Champions League and ended a 56-year trophy drought by winning the League Cup. Fernandes was one of United's few bright spots in the club's worst top-flight campaign since 1973-74, with eight league goals and 10 assists. This year's awards ceremony will be held in Manchester on August 19. — AFP

The Star

2 hours ago

• The Star

Soccer-PSG go from European glory to Club World Cup woe

Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group B - Paris St Germain v Botafogo - Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California, U.S. - June 19, 2025 Botafogo's John and Alexander Barboza celebrate after the match as Paris St Germain's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia looks dejected REUTERS/Daniel Cole MIAMI (Reuters) -European champions Paris St Germain arrived at the Club World Cup aiming to be crowned kings of the global game but defeat by Botafogo on Thursday showed the tournament will be a true test of their mettle and not just a celebratory lap of honour. The Ligue 1 winners went down 1-0 to Brazilian champions Botafogo at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, a result that threw Group B wide open and deflated the mood in the PSG camp after their emphatic 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid in their opener. Desire Doue, who scored twice in PSG's 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the Champions League final last month, said failing to take their chances had cost them. "We weren't efficient," the attacking midfielder said. "We had a lot of chances. They only had two or three shots and they scored. They were very efficient in front of our goal." Botafogo's compact, aggressive approach exposed signs of fatigue in PSG's ranks after a long season in domestic and European football. They had adjusted their schedule in California to allow players afternoons off to recover between training sessions. Coach Luis Enrique also rotated his squad, starting without regulars Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes, Fabian Ruiz and Marquinhos, who were introduced after halftime in search of a spark. But even with the reinforcements PSG failed to break through a determined Botafogo defence. The decisive moment came in the 36th minute when Igor Jesus beat Gianluigi Donnarumma. Luis Enrique did not look for excuses and praised the Copa Libertadores champions for their approach. "Botafogo were the best defensive side we've come up against all season — both in our league and in the Champions League. They were excellent," the Spaniard said. "They were simply highly efficient, very compact, and always had the threat of hitting us in transition. They scored a great goal through Jesus, and that gave them a real injection of belief. "We didn't create the number of chances we're used to. We're very accustomed to working against teams defending deep — but it's always difficult to break one down. In this case, Botafogo did it very well, and I congratulate them for it." Despite enjoying long spells of possession, PSG lacked their usual sharpness and Doue said the defeat should serve as a wake-up call. "We raised our level in the duels, but it was efficiency that was missing tonight. This match has to help us bounce back. Nothing is finished, we have another match and we're going to win it." PSG face Seattle Sounders in their final group game on Monday and Luis Enrique did not expect things to get any easier. "This is a very difficult competition. Every match will be like this," he added. (Editing by Peter Rutherford;)

Sinar Daily

2 hours ago

• Sinar Daily

PSG stunned by Botafogo in Club World Cup upset

French champions PSG are widely regarded as one of the favourites for FIFA's 32-team tournament after a dazzling season which culminated with a scintillating 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the Champions League final last month. 20 Jun 2025 02:09pm Botafogo players celebrate next to Paris Saint-Germain's Georgian forward #07 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Brazilian defender #04 Lucas Beraldo after winning the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group B football match between France's Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil's Botafogo at the Rose Bowl stadium in Los Angeles on June 19, 2025. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP) PASADENA - Paris Saint-Germain suffered a shock 1-0 Club World Cup defeat against Brazilian side Botafogo on Thursday in a hardfought battle between the reigning champions of Europe and South America. A first-half goal from Brazilian international Igor Jesus proved the difference as Botafogo all but sealed a place in the knockout rounds in front of a 53,699 crowd at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish coach Luis Enrique gestures during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Group B football match between France's Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil's Botafogo at the Rose Bowl stadium in Los Angeles on June 19, 2025. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP) French champions PSG are widely regarded as one of the favourites for FIFA's 32-team tournament after a dazzling season which culminated with a scintillating 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the Champions League final last month. But their hopes of securing a victory which would have seen them become the first side to reach the last 16 were stymied by a resilient performance from their opponents from Rio de Janeiro. "A lot of people wondered, but we showed how strong Botafogo is," goalscorer Jesus said after the win. "It was a difficult game, and we had to defend well, and we did our job and scored a goal. "We're really happy -- we knew how important this game was. One team was the champion of the Champions League, the other team was the champion of South America," added Jesus, who had been strongly linked with a move to English Premier League side Nottingham Forest earlier this year before opting to stay with the Brazilians to play in the Club World Cup. "I think I made the right choice to stay in Botafogo," Jesus quipped. Paris Saint-Germain picked up where they had left off in Sunday's 4-0 Group B rout of Atletico Madrid, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia testing Botafogo goalkeeper John with an early curling effort after just two minutes. But that early effort was as close as PSG came to scoring in a scrappy first half punctuated by a series of niggling fouls that prevented the European champions from settling into their passing game. Botafogo's midfield trio of Marlon Freitas, Gregore and Allan worked tirelessly to close down Vitinha, denying the skilful PSG playmaker time and space to launch attacks despite dominating possession. Instead it was Botafogo who took the lead with a goal against the run of play on 36 minutes. Jefferson Savarino's perfectly weighted through ball split the PSG defence and sent Jesus racing through on goal. The Botafogo striker did brilliantly to wrongfoot the covering Willian Pacho before sweeping a shot that took a slight deflection past PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on its way into the net. PSG continued to dominate possession through the second half, and spent long periods camped in the final third. But Botafogo's defence held firm and the result leaves the Brazilians firmly on course for the last 16, with a final group game against Atletico Madrid to come in Pasadena on Monday. - AFP