Manchester City have been found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules by an independent commission, in the most consequential verdict in the competition's history, and the club has launched an appeal.
The verdict, announced on September 29, found City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of the league's financial regulations over a nine-season period from 2009-10 to 2017-18, and of the majority of charges relating to the club's failure to cooperate with the league's investigation. The independent three-person commission concluded that the club had arranged sham contracts and agreements with commercial partners and sponsors to inflate revenues and reduce costs by around £830 million to £900 million. Roughly 87 percent of the club's reported commercial income over the period was found not to have been paid by the sponsors but to have been channelled through illicit payments from the owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group. The panel also found that key figures at the club had presented false evidence at the hearings.
City has strenuously denied wrongdoing, calling the commission's judgment materially flawed and unsafe, and lodged a formal appeal on October 1. The appeal temporarily halts any penalties, which in a separate sanctions process could range from fines and transfer restrictions to points deductions, retrospective stripping of titles or expulsion from the league.
The verdict has triggered emotional reactions across the game. Former players who competed against City during the period, including Steven Gerrard and Vincent Kompany, have spoken publicly, while pundits have debated whether the titles won in that era should stand.
On the pitch, City have responded defiantly. On October 11, in their first match since the guilty verdict, the league leaders travelled to Anfield and beat Liverpool 3-0, with Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scoring after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off. The players were booed during the warm-up, but the result kept City top of the table.
The club courted further controversy the same weekend by appearing to breach Premier League broadcasting rules, refusing to allow manager Enzo Maresca to speak to talkSPORT and other radio broadcasters after the match, though he did speak to television and at his press conference.
What happens next depends on the appeal. Legal experts expect the process to take many months, meaning the cloud over City's achievements, and the question of sanctions, will linger deep into the season and beyond. The commission's verdict found City guilty on all of the serious breach charges and on the majority of the non-cooperation charges, a near-total defeat for the club's legal team. City have vowed to present a comprehensive body of evidence to the independent appeals panel, insisting the judgment contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact.