Manchester City verdict explained: why punishment is still undecided

Manchester City faces a separate punishment hearing after the Premier League announced on 29 September that an independent commission had found the English club guilty of serious financial-rule breaches across nine seasons. City disputes the findings and intends to appeal; no relegation, points deduction or removal of titles has been announced.

The biggest figure in the league’s account is more than £900 million: the combined artificial inflation of revenue and reduction of costs during the affected period. It describes the scale of the accounting arrangements identified by the commission, rather than a punishment imposed on the club.

What the Manchester City commission found

According to the Premier League’s statement, the financial findings cover the 2009/10 to 2017/18 seasons. The commission found that City used ‘sham’ commercial agreements to misrepresent its finances, filed misstated accounts and concealed its true financial position from auditors and football regulators.

The league says some sponsors paid only part of the sponsorship fees recorded by the club. Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd, which owned City, funded the remainder. Other arrangements funded by the owner reduced recorded operating expenses, while a circular arrangement involved Fordham, an entity that purchased players’ image rights.

There is an important distinction in the charge findings. The league says all charges concerning serious financial breaches were upheld, but three of four alleged breaches of cooperation and utmost-good-faith duties were proved. Saying City was found guilty of every charge of every kind would therefore overstate the announcement.

Why Manchester City says it will appeal

City’s club statement says it is ‘disappointed and surprised’ and maintains that the club is innocent. It says a comprehensive body of evidence supports its positions and promises to pursue the available appeal avenues.

The club argues that the opinion contains ‘clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe’. That is City’s stated basis for challenging the decision; it is not a conclusion endorsed by an appeal tribunal.

City also challenges whether the league acted as an independent, impartial regulator free from partisan influence. It says it will pursue appropriate regulatory and legal forums, while ongoing proceedings restrict what more it can say. Its public response does not set out a detailed rebuttal of each financial finding.

Does the verdict mean Manchester City will be relegated?

No relegation has been announced. The league says punishment will be addressed separately at a further hearing before the commission. AS’s dated report on 29 September likewise reported that no sanction had yet been imposed.

The league describes the commission’s sanctioning powers as broad, with a non-exhaustive list including fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions. Those powers do not establish which punishment City will receive. Neither relegation nor the removal of titles is an announced outcome.

The punishment hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of its outcome is permitted under league rules. The announcement gives no hearing date or fixed date for a sanction decision, leaving supporters and other clubs without a confirmed sporting consequence to assess.

The description of the core decision as a ‘final award’ does not mean the entire case is over. The league says a commission ruling, confirmed by an Appeal Board, established that status for publication. Sanctions and the club’s right to challenge the findings remain separate matters.

Why the financial case took so long

The Premier League began investigating in December 2018 and issued its complaint in February 2023. A 42-day commission hearing concluded in December 2024. Explaining the subsequent delay, the commission acknowledged that preparing its decision took much longer than it had anticipated.

The league’s statement describes approximately 7,000 pages of witness and expert transcripts, extensive documents and detailed written submissions, supplemented by four days of oral submissions. The commission called the time taken to produce its decision ‘regrettable’.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: ‘The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period.’ He presented the findings as vindication of the league’s decision to pursue the case and said enforcing club-approved rules protects competitive fairness and integrity.

How the earlier UEFA case differs

The 2020 UEFA proceedings provide historical context, but they are separate from the current Premier League case. In its statement on 13 July 2020, UEFA acknowledged that the Court of Arbitration for Sport had reduced the sanction imposed on City by UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body.

UEFA said CAS found insufficient conclusive evidence to uphold all of that body’s conclusions and that many alleged breaches were time-barred under UEFA’s five-year limitation period. That earlier outcome does not establish that the present Premier League findings have been overturned or determine what happens to City’s intended appeal.

What happens before and after the appeal deadline

City has until Friday 2 October to exercise its right to appeal, according to the league. The club has announced its intention to do so, but the published statements do not establish that an appeal has already been filed. Under the procedure described by the league, a three-member Appeal Board can allow or dismiss an appeal, or vary the commission’s order.

The league says it wants the remaining process completed as soon as possible, without committing to a completion date. It has published redacted core findings and says further material and appendices will follow when permitted. The punishment and any appeal outcome remain unresolved.