MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak issued a direct message to supporters Saturday as the club faces the potential of losing its landmark case with the Premier League over alleged financial breaches.
City has reportedly been found guilty of nearly all of the 100-plus charges against the club, which could result punishments such as a huge points deduction or even expulsion from English soccer's top division.
The club has always denied wrongdoing and Al Mubarak restated that stance in a letter to fans.
“The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began,” he wrote.
“There are so many things that I would like to be able to share with you to help you understand why we feel so confident in our position."
Confidentiality conditions, he said, prevented him from revealing that information.
“While some people have been quick to reach their own conclusions, and there is so much noise swirling around us, nothing has changed,” Al Mubarak said. “We have faced challenges together before and have prevailed. There remain many who want to undermine the momentum of our club. We will not give them that opportunity.”
The Premier League accused City in February 2023 of providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period from 2009-18.
Questions about the Abu Dhabi-backed club's financial dealings have hung over City after supposed leaked emails and documents, likely hacked, were published starting in 2018 by German magazine Der Spiegel. The documents allegedly showed City tried to mask the source of revenue from deals tied to Abu Dhabi, whose ruling family bought the club in 2008 and has overseen the spending of hundreds of millions of dollars on some of the world’s best players over the following two decades.
In 2020, UEFA ruled City had committed “serious breaches” of Financial Fair Play regulations from 2012-16. But a two-year ban was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport because allegations were either rejected or found to have happened too long ago to be investigated.
The Premier League's case, which accused City of more than 100 breaches including providing misleading information about its finances and failure to co-operate with the investigation, has run for more than three years.
City has been the most dominant team in England over the last 15 years, winning eight Premier League titles since 2012 as well as the Champions League in 2023. Over the period in question — 2009-18 — City won the league three times, in 2012, 2014 and 2018.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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FILE - Manchester City players celebrate with the Premier League trophy after the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and West Ham United in Manchester, England, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)
FILE - The club logo decorates a corner flag before the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday rejected Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if the U.S. meets certain conditions.
Meanwhile, Iranian media outlets said the country's president has left New York after the United Nations gathering of world leaders that included Iran's indirect talks with the United States. And Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted another missile it blames on Iran -backed Houthis in neighboring Yemen.
Here is a look at the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. More coverage of the U.N. General Assembly is available here.
Iran offered this week to reopen the strait and resume talks on its nuclear program in seven days if the U.S. lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.
But on Saturday, Trump rejected the proposal saying Iran wanted to make a deal because it was “losing so badly.”
“They want to make a deal and I think that’s fine,” Trump told reporters outside the White House before leaving for a college football game. “I’d like to make a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable.”
Iran effectively closed the strait after the U.S. and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic in late February, and the number of ships passing through has dropped significantly because of Iranian threats and attacks on vessels in the waterway.
Semiofficial media outlets in Iran reported that President Masoud Pezeshkian has left New York for Tehran after the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders.
Pezeshkian's speech to the gathering pushed back against Trump's latest threat to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic, but he ended by saying Tehran remains open to diplomacy.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told journalists Friday night that under Tehran's proposal, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear program in seven days if the United States lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told CBS that, from his viewpoint as a physician, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has “no specific ongoing health issues” despite not being seen or heard in public since the war with the U.S. and Israel began in February.
The interview will air Sunday.
In the transcript CBS released, Pezeshkian described his most recent meeting with Khamenei as lasting over seven hours. “But, of course, he was healthy enough to be able to withstand those hours of that situation. From a medical standpoint, he’s completely healthy,” the president said. When asked whether the supreme leader’s face and legs have recovered, Pezeshkian responded, “Yes.”
Khamenei’s father and other family members were killed on the opening day of the war.
Saudi Arabia’s military spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, claimed early Saturday that a ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen was intercepted and destroyed. He said it was fired toward the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait.
The Associated Press couldn’t immediately verify that independently. There was no immediate statement of responsibility, though it can take days for the Houthis to issue one.
A regional body representing Arab Gulf states, the Gulf Cooperation Council, condemned the latest Houthi attacks as a “grave escalation and threat to regional security” and urged the international community to respond.
Iraq said it is in direct contact with the U.S. to secure exemptions from sanctions on Iranian airlines as Washington continues economic pressure on Tehran.
The Iraqi prime minister’s office said the aim is to get exemptions for certain airports, noting flights for humanitarian reasons such as medical treatment, education and religious pilgrimages.
Many pilgrims in neighboring Iran visit sites such as Karbala and Najaf.
Before rejecting Iran's proposal Saturday, Trump posted an image on his Truth Social platform of the Strait of Hormuz labeled “Trump Strait." It is not the first time he has tried to antagonize Iran in this way.
The White House on Friday said only that U.S. officials were having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war. Earlier in the week, Iran and the U.S. participated in hours of indirect talks.
Israeli settlers have intensified efforts to seize natural springs and heritage sites in the occupied West Bank. The springs are vital for drinking water, tourism and agriculture and increasingly inaccessible to the 2.8 million Palestinians living there.
In the Jordan Valley, settlers cut a water pipe to a Palestinian village, redirecting it to a pool they named after Herod, the Roman-appointed king of Judea. Israeli rights groups say the move is part of a broader effort to claim heritage sites.
The struggle for water access highlights the ongoing contest for control of the West Bank, where Palestinians have faced shortages since 1967.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Palestinians cool off at the site of Solomon's Pools an ancient water reservoirs located south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian signs a book before meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at United Nations headquarters during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Yemenis wave national and Saudi flags as they celebrate the 64th anniversary of the September 26 Revolution in Taiz, Yemen, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)
