Manchester City Breached Premier League Financial Rules: What the Appeal Leaves Undecided

The Premier League published an independent Commission's findings against Manchester City on 29 September 2026: the club was found in breach of the League's financial rules across nine seasons, and of most of the charges over its failure to co-operate with the investigation. City appealed the decision on 2 October. The sanction is being handled in a separate hearing that has no published date, so the club does not yet know what the penalty will be.

What the Commission decided on 29 September

An independent Commission found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period. It also upheld the majority of the charges relating to the club's failure to co-operate, including three of the four alleged breaches, according to the League's statement. The seasons in question run from 2009/10 to 2017/18.

The Premier League opened its investigation in December 2018 and issued a complaint under Section W of its rules in February 2023. The independent Commission then held a 42-day hearing that concluded in December 2024, and in its own account it took much longer than it wished, and much longer than it had anticipated when the hearing ended, to produce the decision.

Where the £900 million figure comes from

The Commission found that City arranged "sham" contracts with a number of commercial partners, agreements that misrepresented the true arrangement between the parties, and relied on sham agreements with others in order to inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs.

It described a disguised funding scheme. Sponsors were required to pay only part of the relevant sponsorship fees, and the remainder was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), the company that owned the club. The Commission also found further sham arrangements, funded by ADUG, that let City record lower operating expenses than it actually incurred, plus a sham circular arrangement with Fordham, an entity that purchased the club's players' image rights and was funded by ADUG.

The stated purpose was to inflate revenue and reduce costs by more than £900 million during the affected period so that the club appeared to comply with financial rules. The Commission concluded that City filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators, and that the club "clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules".

Had all the relevant agreements been reported accurately, the Commission found, City would have been in breach of both the Premier League's and UEFA's spending limits by a very substantial amount. On the co-operation charges, it concluded that the club had "made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the PL investigation".

Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, called the case and the decision "the most significant in Premier League history". He also said elements of the case remained to be decided, including what sanction must follow.

The appeal City lodged on 2 October

City had until Friday 2 October to exercise its right to appeal the findings. That day, the League published a short second statement confirming that the club had appealed the decision of the independent Commission and had lodged the appeal with the Chair of the Judicial Panel. It did not say which findings the club disputes.

Under Section W, an appeal is heard by an Appeal Board appointed by the Chair of the Judicial Panel. The board has three members, one of whom should have held judicial office and chairs it. Hearings in this process are private and remain confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted. The Board's powers are wide: it may allow the appeal, dismiss it, or make any other order it thinks fit, including varying the Commission's order.

The sanction is a separate hearing

Proving charges and deciding the penalty are separate stages. The League says that now the charges have been proved, the issue of sanction will be addressed in a further hearing with the independent Commission, and that hearing will also stay private and confidential until publication is permitted.

The rules give a Commission broad discretion. The League's own note describes the list of sanctions in the rules as non-exhaustive and names fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions. No date for the sanction hearing has been published. Masters said the League is committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process "to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans", and the board's stated intention is that the full process, including any appeals and publication of the relevant decisions, is concluded as soon as possible.

Where City sit while the case runs

Nothing has been taken off the club yet. On the Premier League's official table on 12 October, City were top with six wins from six, 16 goals scored and five conceded, and 18 points, three clear of Arsenal.

The club leads the Premier League at the same time as the League has found it in serious breach of the competition's financial rules, and the hearing that decides whether that lead survives has no published date. If the Commission imposes a points deduction, it would land on a team sitting first.

What the League has not published

The League's statements do not give the total number of charges, identify the members of the Appeal Board, report the club's grounds of appeal, or set out a timetable for the appeal. They also do not say whether the appeal will be heard before or after the sanction hearing.

The League says the Commission's award comprises the Core Decision plus a large number of additional appendices, and that it is committed to publishing them as soon as it is able. Only a redacted version of the Core Decision has been released so far. The League was able to publish that because the Commission ruled it a "final award" and an Appeal Board confirmed the ruling.