Key Points
- An independent Commission has found Manchester City guilty of every charge tied to serious financial-rule breaches from 2009/10 to 2017/18, plus three of four non-cooperation charges.
- The Premier League says “sham” deals were used to inflate revenues and cut costs by more than £900 million; the BBC puts the disguised funding scheme at £830.69 million.
- No punishment has been set yet: sanctions, which can include fines and points deductions, go to a separate private hearing.
- City denies wrongdoing and says it will appeal, with a deadline of Friday, Oct. 2.
An independent Commission has ruled against Manchester City in what the Premier League calls the most significant disciplinary case in its history. The Commission found that the club broke the league’s financial rules for nine straight seasons. It said City used “sham” sponsorship and cost arrangements to hide the true scale of its owners’ funding. However, it has not yet decided the punishment, and City says it will appeal.
The Premier League published a redacted version of the Commission’s Core Decision on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The Manchester City Premier League guilty verdict covers all charges related to serious financial breaches between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons. It also covers most of the charges that City failed to cooperate with the league’s inquiry, according to the Premier League’s official statement.
What the Commission found
According to the league, the Commission concluded that during those nine seasons City:
- arranged “sham” contracts with a number of commercial partners, and relied on other “sham” agreements, to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs;
- filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators;
- was significantly in breach of both Premier League and UEFA spending limits;
- committed multiple breaches of its duty to cooperate with the league’s investigation, with three of four alleged breaches upheld.
The Commission described a “disguised funding scheme.” Under it, sponsors paid only part of their fees, and the rest came from Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), the club’s owner. The Commission also found further ADUG-funded arrangements that let City record lower operating costs. In addition, it found a circular deal with Fordham, a company that bought players’ image rights. “By its conduct the club clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules,” the Commission said, according to the league.
The BBC also reported a finding on witnesses from the Core Decision. It said the Commission found that “a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects and that some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence.”
How the £900m and £830m figures differ
By contrast, the BBC reports a narrower number from the Core Decision. It puts the disguised funding scheme at £830.69 million, tied to the sham sponsorship deals. The BBC added that City recorded £360 million in sponsor fees in its three title-winning seasons of 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2017-18. Of that, only £43 million was legitimate, with the rest coming from its owners, the BBC said.
For context, the case has long been described as the “115 charges.” The Commission itself said the charges covered “well over 100” alleged individual breaches across four broad categories, the BBC reported.
Sanctions have not been decided
Despite widespread talk of points deductions or even expulsion, no penalty has been imposed. The league says sanctions will be addressed at a further hearing before the same independent Commission. That hearing will remain private until publication is permitted. Under Section W of the league’s rules, the Commission has broad discretion. Its options include fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions.
“There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches,” said Premier League chief executive Richard Masters. He called the case and decision “the most significant in Premier League history.” He also said the Core Decision “details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.”
City’s response and the appeal clock
City said it was “disappointed and surprised” and insisted it is “innocent of the accusations.” The club said it will pursue appeal avenues because the decision “contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.” Its statement referred to a “Premier League Commission.” Sky Sports noted that this wording is wrong, because the panel is independent of the league.
Chief executive Ferran Soriano also sent a video to staff and players, which Sky Sports obtained. In it, he said the Commission’s opinion “supports the Premier League’s conspiracy theory.” He added that “irrefutable evidence” existed, including “bank statements, money transfers, witnesses,” to show the money did not come from the owner.
City has until Friday, Oct. 2, to appeal. Any appeal would go to a three-member Appeal Board, chaired by someone who has held judicial office. According to the league, that board can allow or dismiss the appeal or vary the Commission’s order.
How the case got here
The league opened its investigation in December 2018, after the Football Leaks documents published by Der Spiegel. It then issued its formal complaint in February 2023. The Commission held a 42-day hearing that ended in December 2024, with transcripts running to about 7,000 pages. Separately, UEFA banned City from European competition in 2020. The Court of Arbitration for Sport later overturned that ruling, the BBC noted.
Reaction in Britain has been sharp. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC the report is “incredibly stark.” Former City chairman David Bernstein called it “damning beyond belief.”
What happens next
The next two milestones are City’s appeal decision by Oct. 2 and the separate sanctions hearing, whose timing has not been announced. The league says it will publish the full decision and appendices when its rules allow. Until then, any talk of relegation or specific points penalties remains speculation. More coverage is in our Soccer news section.
