LONDON — September 29, 2026: An independent commission found Manchester City guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over nine seasons, while the club said it would appeal the decision.
The Premier League said the commission upheld all charges relating to breaches of its financial rules between the 2009–10 and 2017–18 seasons. It also upheld three of four charges concerning the club’s failure to cooperate with the investigation.
What the commission found
According to the league’s statement and Reuters reporting, the case centered on commercial arrangements the commission concluded were used to inflate reported revenue and understate costs. Reuters reported that the disputed accounting exceeded £900 million across the period examined.
Manchester City denies wrongdoing. The club said the decision contains material errors of law, principle and fact and described the opinion as unsafe. That position is part of the ongoing appeals process, not a reversal of the commission’s finding.
No sanction has been imposed yet
The ruling establishes liability, but the Premier League had not announced a penalty as of September 30. Possible consequences should not be treated as decided until the league issues a sanction and any appeal is resolved.
The case therefore changes the formal status of the long-running allegations: an independent commission has now reached findings, but the final competitive consequences remain unsettled.
For more league coverage, visit the AskNovus Soccer section.
Featured image is an illustrative Manchester football photograph.
Sources and image credit
- Premier League statement, September 29, 2026
- Reuters report, September 29, 2026
- Photo by Winston Tjia on Unsplash
[…] follows other recent football governance cases. AskNovus has also covered the separate Premier League financial-rules decision involving Manchester City; the competitions, governing bodies and allegations are […]