Manchester City's 115 Charges: Verdict, Appeal and Possible Punishments Explained

What the independent commission decided

The Premier League charged Manchester City with more than 100 breaches of its financial rules in February 2023. A three-person independent commission heard the case over a 42-day hearing that concluded in December 2024, reviewing roughly 7,000 pages of witness transcripts and written submissions, according to the Premier League's own statement on the ruling.

The Athletic and The Times first reported on 25 September 2026 that the panel had reached its verdict, according to Al Jazeera's timeline of the case. The Premier League confirmed the outcome officially on 29 September 2026: City was found guilty of all charges tied to serious breaches of financial rules across the 2009/10 to 2017/18 seasons, and of three of the four charges linked to the club's failure to cooperate with the investigation. In total, the club was cleared on only one of the 115 original charges.

The financial breaches, explained

According to the Premier League's statement, the commission found that City arranged commercial contracts with sponsors that it judged to be artificial, disguising funding that actually came from Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd, the club's ownership vehicle. These arrangements let City report sponsorship income that was higher than what sponsors were really paying, while owner money covered the difference.

The commission said the schemes artificially inflated City's revenues and reduced its costs by more than £900 million over the affected period, and that the club filed misstated accounts that concealed its true finances from auditors and football regulators. The panel concluded that City's conduct showed a clear intent to circumvent Premier League rules, and separately found that the club had acted to obstruct and delay the league's four-year investigation.

• Sponsorship and commercial income allegedly inflated through contracts linked to the club's ownership
• Alleged failures to accurately report commercial contracts and other financial information to the league
• Alleged breaches of Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules
• Charges over the club's level of cooperation with the Premier League's investigation

How the case compares with Everton and Nottingham Forest

Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked points during the 2023/24 season for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules, but those cases each covered a single financial year, according to a Yahoo Sports review of every Premier League points deduction in history. Everton was initially deducted 10 points, reduced to 6 on appeal, before a second 2-point penalty for a separate breach brought their total to 8 — the first time a club had received two separate deductions in one season, Yahoo Sports reported. Forest was deducted 4 points; their appeal was rejected.

Football finance commentator Kieran Maguire, cited by GiveMeSport, said the scale of the City case dwarfs those precedents because it covers nine seasons rather than one, and because the sums involved are many times larger than the Everton or Forest overspends.

What happens next

Manchester City had until Friday 2 October 2026 to lodge an appeal and did so on 1 October, according to Sky Sports, arguing it has a 'comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence' supporting its position. A separate three-person independent Appeal Board will hear the challenge; City may only introduce new evidence that was unavailable during the original hearing.

Punishment is decided at a distinct sanctions hearing, which the Premier League says will remain confidential until it is permitted to be published. Under Premier League Rule W.54, the available sanctions range from a reprimand to a fine, a transfer embargo, a points deduction or expulsion from the league. The Premier League Board has said it wants the full process, including any appeal, concluded as soon as possible, but Sky Sports reported rival clubs expect the dispute could run into next year and potentially reach the High Court.

Sky Sports reported that several Premier League clubs believe a points deduction alone would not match the scale of the case, arguing that City returning to full strength after missing only part of a season would not reflect breaches spread across nine years. Manchester City has denied all wrongdoing and maintains it will be vindicated on appeal.