Updated 25 September 2026: This article has been rewritten to reflect Friday afternoon’s reports that a verdict has been reached. The findings have not yet been officially published.
Manchester City have been found guilty on almost all of the 115 Premier League financial charges they faced, according to reports on Friday afternoon. The story was broken by The Athletic, and BBC Sport sources have since backed it up, saying City were found to have broken the majority of the rules in question.
Reuters and several UK newspapers report that the club was found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges. None of this has been officially confirmed. No written judgment has been released, the Premier League declined to comment when approached, and no punishment has been announced.
What have City said?
The club responded with a short statement that made clear it was unhappy the news had come out before the process was finished. It said: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality.”
City said their position had not changed since their original response in February 2023. The statement added: “The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”
City have always denied any wrongdoing.
What were the 115 charges?
City were charged and referred to an independent commission in February 2023, following a four-year investigation. The hearing itself began in September 2024. The charges cover the period from 2009 to 2023 and break down as follows:
- 54 charges of failing to provide accurate financial information (2009-10 to 2017-18)
- 14 charges of failing to provide accurate details of player and manager pay (2009-10 to 2017-18)
- 5 charges of failing to comply with UEFA rules, including financial fair play (2013-14 to 2017-18)
- 7 charges of breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules, or PSR (2015-16 to 2017-18)
- 35 charges of failing to co-operate with the Premier League’s investigation (December 2018 to February 2023)
The case is separate from City’s earlier dispute with UEFA. A two-year European ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020, but that ruling did not settle the Premier League’s case.
What punishment could City face?
Sanctions have not been decided yet, and they were never expected to arrive at the same time as the verdict. When they do come, the commission has a wide range of options open to it:
- A points deduction, either immediate or suspended
- Fines, either immediate or suspended
- Expulsion from the Premier League, which would mean City being demoted to a lower division at the end of the season
A points penalty big enough could also leave City facing relegation in practice. There is also plenty of talk about whether titles could be taken away. City won the league three times during the period covered by the charges: in 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2017-18. Those wins sit alongside the record run of four titles in a row the club completed later on.
For comparison, Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked points in the 2023-24 season for PSR breaches. Those were single-charge cases and far simpler than this one.
Will City appeal?
An appeal is widely expected. City’s legal team is led by Lord Pannick KC, who helped the club overturn its UEFA ban in 2020. Any appeal would go to a Premier League appeal board rather than to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as that route is not available in this case.
Nobody can say for sure how long that would take. The investigation and hearing have already run for eight years, and the written judgment, which will also reveal who sat on the commission, still has to be published.
Why it matters to fans here
Northern Ireland has no shortage of Premier League supporters, and plenty of them follow the clubs who finished behind City in those title-winning seasons. The BBC notes that Manchester United were runners-up in 2011-12 and 2017-18, and Liverpool in 2013-14. Any talk of titles being reassigned will be followed closely in pubs and living rooms across Belfast, especially after the heat of this season’s controversial Manchester derby.
LoveBelfast view: A reported verdict is a big moment, but it isn’t the end of the story. Until the written judgment is published and a sanction is set, the details matter more than the headlines. Fans of every club, City included, deserve to see the full reasoning.
Sources: The Athletic; BBC Sport; Reuters; Manchester City statement, 25 September 2026. We will update this article when the Premier League or the independent commission publishes its findings.
Update, 26 September 2026: Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has written to fans about the case. Read his letter in full.
https://x.com/AJE_Sport/status/2104353329233244589/video/1?s=46
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