Premier League financial rules · Man City 115 charges
Man City verdict: guilty on 114 of 115 charges. What happens next
Man City case tracker: sanction and appeal
Where the case stands, stage by stage. Current to 2 October 2026.
| Stage | When | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charged | 6 February 2023 | Done | 115 alleged breaches covering 2009/10 to 2017/18, all denied by the club. |
| Hearing | 16 September to 6 December 2024 | Done | Heard in private by an independent three-person commission. |
| Liability decision | 29 September 2026 | Done | Guilty of every charge except Charge 4(B). Redacted Core Decision published by the Premier League. |
| Appeal lodged | 1 October 2026 | Done | City lodged their appeal against the finding of guilt at 7pm on 1 October 2026, a day before the 2 October 2026 deadline, saying the decision "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe". A fresh three-person Appeal Board will hear it. |
| Sanction hearing | No date announced | Waiting | A separate private hearing before the same commission: the Premier League proposes a sanction, City respond, the commission decides. Sky Sports reports the League wants it concluded this season. |
| Appeal Board ruling | No date announced | Open now | Sky Sports reports the appeal should be heard within 12 weeks of being lodged, at a hearing of no more than five days, with the Appeal Board then allowed 30 days to rule, which could take a decision into late January 2027. Effectively final: there is no route to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. |
Sources: Premier League statement, 29 September 2026; ESPN (City's statement); Sky Sports (sanction process); Sky Sports, 2 October 2026 (appeal lodged, City's statement and appeal timetable).
What is confirmed and what is only reported
| Question | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| Guilty? | Every charge proven except Charge 4(B) (114 of 115 in the press count). Published |
| Which charge failed? | Charge 4(B), one of four non-cooperation charges. What it alleged is in an appendix not yet published. |
| Punishment | Not decided |
| Written decision | Redacted Core Decision published 29 September 2026. The appendices, which hold the detailed reasons, are to follow. |
| Appeal | Lodged by City on 1 October 2026 (club statement). No Appeal Board date announced |
What the Premier League and Manchester City have said
The Premier League's statement opens: "An independent Commission has found Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League's investigation." It says City arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners "to artificially inflate the club's revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than £900 million", filed misstated accounts, and were "significantly in breach" of both Premier League and UEFA spending limits. The Core Decision itself puts the overstatement of income alone at "over £830 million".
Chief executive Richard Masters said: "The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period." The League says it will publish the appendices "as soon as it is able".
Manchester City said the opinion "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe", that the club "will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it", and that "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions".
On 2 October the club confirmed that "at 7pm on Thursday 1st October 2026 the club lodged its comprehensive appeal against the opinion of the Premier League Commission", repeating that the opinion "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe" and that "the club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League". It added that it is "necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete". (Sky Sports, 2 Oct 2026)
Sources: Premier League statement, 29 Sep 2026, redacted Core Decision (paragraphs 6–7, 101, 157), The National, 29 Sep 2026 (City statement), Sky Sports, 30 Sep 2026.
What the 115 charges are
On 6 February 2023 the Premier League referred Manchester City to an independent commission under Rule W.82.1 (the 2022/23 rule number). The referral lists 115 numbered alleged breaches spanning nine seasons, 2009/10 to 2017/18, plus an allegation of failing to cooperate with the League's investigation between December 2018 and February 2023. City deny all wrongdoing.
- Inaccurate financial information, incl. sponsorship revenue (2009–18) 54
- Manager and player remuneration disclosure (2009–18) 14
- Complying with UEFA rules, incl. FFP (2013/14–2017/18) 5
- Profitability and Sustainability Rules (2015/16–2017/18) 7
- Failure to cooperate with the investigation (2018–23) 35
The core allegation is that owner funding was disguised as sponsorship income, which would have inflated revenue and so flattered City's position under the loss-based rules of the time. The "130 charges" figure sometimes quoted is press analysis counting the underlying rule breaches inside the 115 bullet points; it is not an official Premier League recount. Sources: ESPN, Sky Sports, theesk.org.
Timeline: from charge to verdict
- Premier League refers City to an independent commission6 Feb 2023
- Hearing opens at the International Dispute Resolution Centre, London16 Sep 2024
- Hearing closes6 Dec 2024
- Separate Associated Party Transaction dispute settled8 Sep 2025
- Richard Masters: verdict "has taken longer than expected"18 Aug 2026
- Guilty on 114 of 115 charges reported (The Athletic, then Reuters, BBC, AFP)25 Sep 2026
- Khaldoon Al Mubarak's open letter: process "has a long way to run"26 Sep 2026
- Decision published by the Premier League29 Sep 2026
- City say they will appeal; sanction to follow at a separate hearing29 Sep 2026
- Sanction decidedAwaited
- City lodge their appeal1 Oct 2026
- 14-day appeal window closes2 Oct 2026
The three-person commission was appointed by Murray Rosen KC, chair of the Premier League's judicial panel; its members' identities are confidential (they are redacted from the published decision). The decision was published more than 21 months after the hearing closed. theesk.org's April 2026 analysis expected a liability decision first, then a separate sanction phase, then any appeal, a sequence that is likely to run well into the 2026/27 season.
Sources: Flashscore (hearing dates), ESPN, 17 Aug 2026, Sky Sports, 18 Aug 2026, Malay Mail, 14 Aug 2025.
What punishment could Man City get?
The Premier League Rules (Section W; Rule W.64 in the 2026/27 edition) give a commission a wide menu: a reprimand, an unlimited fine, a points deduction (including from a prior season), transfer or player-registration bans, and expulsion from the League. The Nottingham Forest commission confirmed in 2024 that expulsion is genuinely on the table for major breaches, not a theoretical option. There is no tariff: under the old PSR regime a commission weighs the case and decides.
| Club | Breach | Deduction | On appeal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everton (Nov 2023) | PSR, one period | 10 pts | Cut to 6 (Feb 2024) |
| Everton (Apr 2024) | £16.6m over, second period | 2 pts | Stood |
| Nottingham Forest (Mar 2024) | £34.5m over a £61m limit | 4 pts | Dismissed (May 2024) |
| Leicester City | £20.8m over | 6 pts | Upheld (Apr 2026) |
| Manchester City | 115 charges, 2009/10–2017/18 | Not decided | Appeal lodged |
Each precedent concerned a single PSR breach in a single assessment period. The City case spans nine seasons and five categories of alleged breach, so none of these deductions is a reliable guide to what the commission might impose. Some analysts have put numbers on it anyway: Kieran Maguire has suggested 40 to 60 points (Al Jazeera), but that is one analyst's view, not a Premier League position. The largest recent total in English football is in the EFL: Derby County lost 21 points in 2021/22, 12 for entering administration and 9 for breaching the spending rules. Every points deduction, listed → What a deduction would have done to each season, 2009/10 to 2017/18 → Every Premier League case compared, including Chelsea's record fine → Sources: Norton Rose Fulbright (sanction powers), Goal (expulsion confirmed available).
Can Man City appeal?
Either party may appeal within 14 days of the decision to a fresh three-person Appeal Board. The whole process is an arbitration under the Arbitration Act 1996, which closes most of the doors a losing party might otherwise try: a court challenge is available only on jurisdiction (section 67) or serious irregularity (section 68), the section 69 point-of-law appeal is waived under Premier League Rule X.38, and there is no route to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Appeal Board's decision is, in practice, final.
- Liability decision 29 September 2026
- Sanction phase Not yet decided
- Appeal deadline (14 days) 2 October 2026
- Appeal lodged by City 1 October 2026
The separate Associated Party Transaction dispute is not part of this case. It was settled on 8 September 2025, with City accepting that the current APT rules are valid and binding (Premier League statement).
Why none of this touches SCR
The seven PSR charges (Rules E.52–E.60) cover 2015/16 to 2017/18 under the old £105m three-year loss regime. Nothing in the charge sheet concerns the Squad Cost Ratio, which only became the binding rule in 2026/27. The two regimes also punish differently, and the difference is the whole point of SCR.
Under PSR, a breach goes to a commission, which weighs the case and picks a sanction from the Section W menu. Everton's 10 became 6; Forest got 4 for a larger overspend; Leicester got 6. The outcome depends on the panel.
Under SCR, a spend breach is handled mechanically. Squad cost is measured against 85% of adjusted football revenue — the Green Threshold. Between 85% and the Red Threshold (115% in 2026/27, ratcheting club-by-club via the Feedback Loop from 2027/28) a per-point levy applies from 2027/28. Beyond the Red Threshold the deduction is fixed: six points, plus one for every £6.5m over. No commission decides the number.
Any 115-charges sanction therefore comes from the commission under Rule W, not from the SCR tariff, and it does not change City's SCR headroom. A points deduction would still come off their league total like any other. On this site's estimates they are currently green under SCR; see their club page for the figures rather than this page. PSR vs SCR, side by side →
Frequently asked questions
Have Man City been found guilty of the 115 charges?
Yes. On 29 September 2026 the Premier League published the independent commission's decision: Manchester City were found guilty of every charge except Charge 4(B), one of the four non-cooperation charges (114 of 115 in the count most coverage uses). The commission found the club used "sham" sponsorship contracts to inflate its revenue and reduce its costs between 2009/10 and 2017/18. The sanction has not yet been decided and will be set at a separate hearing.
Which charge were Man City cleared of?
Charge 4(B). The commission's decision groups the case into Charges 1(A) to 1(D) (the accounts), 2 (UEFA rules), 3 (PSR) and 4(A) to 4(D) (cooperating with the investigation), and finds each proven "bar Charge 4(B)". It also found Charge 4(A) proven "in the majority of the respects" alleged rather than all of them. The reasons are in Appendix 34, which the Premier League has not yet published, so what Charge 4(B) alleged is not yet public. City were found guilty of every charge about the accounts, UEFA rules and PSR.
What punishment will Man City get?
No sanction has been decided. Under its Section W powers (Rule W.64 in the 2026/27 rulebook) a commission can issue a reprimand, an unlimited fine, a points deduction (including from a prior season), transfer or registration bans, or expulsion from the League. Precedents for single PSR breaches are Everton (10 points, cut to 6 on appeal), Nottingham Forest (4 points) and Leicester City (6 points), but the City case is far larger in scope and none of them maps onto it directly.
Will Man City be relegated or stripped of titles?
Neither has been decided. Expulsion from the Premier League is on the list of sanctions available to the commission, and the Nottingham Forest commission confirmed in 2024 that it is a real option for major breaches, not a theoretical one. Whether past titles could be affected has not been addressed by the Premier League or the reported verdict. This page makes no prediction.
When will Man City's punishment be announced?
There is no announced date. The Premier League says the sanction "will be addressed separately in a further hearing with the independent Commission", which will be private until it can be published. Separately, City lodged an appeal against the finding of guilt on 1 October 2026; no Appeal Board date has been announced.
Can Manchester City appeal the verdict?
Yes. Either party may appeal within 14 days of the decision to a fresh three-person Appeal Board. The Premier League says City have until 2 October 2026, and City said on 29 September 2026 that they "will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it". They lodged the appeal at 7pm on 1 October 2026, a day before the deadline. The process is an arbitration under the Arbitration Act 1996: a court challenge is only possible on jurisdiction (s.67) or serious irregularity (s.68), the point-of-law appeal (s.69) is waived under Rule X.38, and there is no route to CAS. The Appeal Board's decision is effectively final.
Does the case affect Manchester City's SCR position?
Nothing in the charge sheet concerns the Squad Cost Ratio. The seven PSR charges cover 2015/16 to 2017/18 under the old £105m three-year loss regime. Any sanction comes from the commission under Rule W, not from the SCR tariff, and does not change Manchester City's SCR headroom for 2026/27. A points deduction would, however, apply to the league table this season or a later one.