Joe Hart is an English former professional goalkeeper who now works as a football pundit. He began at his hometown club Shrewsbury Town, joined Manchester City in 2006 and won two Premier League titles there, won 75 England caps, and finished his career at Celtic, retiring at the end of the 2023-24 season. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport, including Match of the Day and BBC Radio 5 Live.
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 and England goalkeeper, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club
Response to this claim
Manchester City said on September 29, 2026 that the club "is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League," that "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions," and that the commission's opinion "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe."
“If Man City are found guilty, which I don't think they are because of what Khaldoon said, then there's conversations to be had. But right now I'm very confident and very, very calm. I'm very proud of what I've achieved and what I did with Manchester City and what we achieved as a team. And that doesn't change. That doesn't change until you tell me.”
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, Hart says he does not think City are guilty, relying on the chairman's letter, and says he remains very confident. That rejects the finding, so we used Denied. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because he adds that if City are found guilty there are conversations to be had, but his stated view is that they are not guilty. He spoke before the commission's decision was published.
Statement dates: September 28, 2026
Statement dates: September 28, 2026
