David Bernstein is a British businessman and chartered accountant. He was chairman of Manchester City Football Club from 1998 to 2003 and chairman of the Football Association from 2011 to 2013.
Case
An independent commission found Manchester City arranged "sham" sponsorship contracts to disguise owner funding between 2009/10 and 2017/18. City denies it, says the decision is unsafe and will appeal. As of October 1, 2026, no sanction has been set.
Role at the time: Former Manchester City chairman (1998 to 2003) and former Football Association chairman, in a BBC interview reported by AFP
Response to this claim
The Premier League said on September 29, 2026 that an independent commission found that between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons Manchester City arranged "sham" contracts with a number of its commercial partners as part of a disguised funding scheme, in which the sponsors were required to pay only a portion of the relevant fees and Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd, which owned the club, funded the remainder, and that "by its conduct the club clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules."
“It is damning beyond belief. My immediate thoughts are, should the board continue? Should the people involved be suspended immediately?”
Relative to the proposition that City used sponsorship contracts the commission described as shams, and related arrangements, to misstate its finances and circumvent the Premier League's financial rules, as the commission found, Bernstein calls the findings damning beyond belief and asks whether those involved should be suspended, which endorses the finding. We used Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because AFP reports his view on expulsion as depending on the appeal failing, but his reaction to the finding itself carries no condition.
Statement dates: September 29, 2026
Statement dates: September 29, 2026
