Reported Manchester City Findings Remain Unpublished as Appeal Looms

Reports published on September 25, 2026, claimed that Manchester City had been found responsible for virtually all the alleged Premier League rule breaches in English football’s most consequential financial case. That account should not yet be treated as the final public outcome.

The independent commission’s written ruling has not been published, the Premier League has not officially confirmed the reported findings, and no sanction has been announced. Manchester City responded by saying the process remained ongoing, with significant elements still to be completed under strict confidentiality. The club has consistently denied wrongdoing and maintains that evidence supports its position.

Some reports described the result as 114 findings against City from 115 charges. Without the commission’s decision, however, it is impossible to verify that exact figure, identify the charge reportedly not proved or establish whether different allegations were grouped together in the ruling. Reports that the matter is moving toward an appeal also do not amount to public confirmation that City has formally filed one or disclose the grounds it may use.

What the charges cover

The case began publicly on February 6, 2023, following a Premier League investigation that started in December 2018. Proceedings before the commission opened in September 2024 and concluded later that year, followed by an unusually long period of deliberation.

The widely used total of 115 is a conventional breakdown of five groups: 54 alleged failures to provide accurate financial information between 2009-10 and 2017-18; 14 alleged failures involving complete details of manager and player remuneration; five alleged failures to comply with UEFA regulations; seven alleged breaches of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules; and 35 alleged failures to cooperate with the league’s investigation.

Those figures total 115, although other calculations have placed the number of distinct alleged rule breaches at about 130 because the original referral listed multiple rules across individual seasons. Until the written judgment appears, claims that precisely 114 of 115 charges were proved should therefore be presented as reported information rather than an established official tally.

The allegations include whether financial information supplied to the league gave a true and fair view of City’s revenue, sponsorship relationships, related parties and operating costs. Other counts concern the disclosure of payments to players and a manager, compliance with UEFA financial regulations, domestic spending controls and cooperation with requests for documents and information.

This is a private sporting-regulatory proceeding, not a criminal prosecution. A finding that a rule breach was proved would not itself constitute a criminal conviction.

What happens next

Premier League rules provide for commission decisions to be published, with written reasons, when proceedings reach the relevant final stage. They also allow a party to challenge a commission decision through the competition’s appeal system. An appeal board can uphold, vary or overturn findings and sanctions.

City is widely expected to appeal any adverse decision, but the public record currently contains no appeal notice, detailed grounds or final timetable. The absence of a published judgment also prevents an informed assessment of the evidence, the commission’s reasoning, mitigating or aggravating factors and the relative seriousness of any findings.

Possible consequences

Sporting consequences could include a reprimand, points deduction, suspension or expulsion from the Premier League. A sufficiently large deduction could produce relegation in practice. Discussion of stripped titles remains speculative: no trophy has been removed, no table has been rewritten and no such order has been announced.

Financial consequences could include a substantial fine and further legal costs. A serious sporting penalty could also reduce broadcasting, prize-money and European competition income, complicate player recruitment and retention, and affect commercial agreements. Rival clubs could explore compensation claims if they believed proven breaches caused measurable losses, but any such action would face complex questions about evidence, limitation periods and causation.

Reputational consequences may be the most enduring. Confirmed findings concerning inaccurate reporting or non-cooperation would intensify scrutiny of City’s governance and place a lasting qualification around an era of major success. Conversely, a successful appeal could materially change the meaning of the reported initial result.

For now, the defensible conclusion is limited: confidential findings have reportedly gone heavily against Manchester City, but the official ruling, exact charge-by-charge outcome, sanction and appeal position are not yet publicly settled.