Manchester City have been found guilty of virtually all the charges levelled against them for violating the Premier League’s financial regulations.
The punishments for the financial breaches are yet to be ascertained, with all possibilities remaining on the table, and City are expected to appeal.
A reliable source with intimate knowledge of the charges told The Athletic in confidence that the Manchester club was found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges. They were first charged in February 2023 following a four-year investigation.
When the case became public, a spokesperson for the club said in a statement the club was “surprised” by the charges and it “welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position”.
How it began
City were charged following a probe into alleged violations between 2009 and 2018; an independent commission would later take over and adjudicate over the charges. The investigation began after German newspaper Der Spiegel published leaked financial documents from City in November 2018.
The Premier League accused City of failing to provide accurate financial information and details of payments to players and coaches, as well as breaches of UEFA’s financial fair play (FFP) regulations and the league’s own profitability and sustainability rules (PSR). The club have always denied the allegations.
City have won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, seven League Cups and one Champions League under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour, whose Abu Dhabi United Group acquired the club in 2008. Six of those honours have come since the charges were brought.
In February 2020, UEFA, European football’s governing body, handed City a two-year ban from its competitions and a €30million (£26.8m; $32.2m) fine following the Der Spiegel leaks, but these were set aside by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) five months later. CAS reversed the two-year ban because the alleged FFP breaches were either not established or time-barred — meaning under UEFA regulations, some of the alleged offences happened too long ago to be punished.
City, though, were found guilty of not cooperating with UEFA by failing to provide substantial amounts of evidence, a breach CAS said was “severe” and needed to be “seriously reproached”, leading to an £8.8m fine.
The Premier League and its chief executive, Richard Masters, have come under intense pressure and scrutiny over the City case after the club was charged more than three years ago.
Last month, Masters admitted that the process had “taken longer than expected” but insisted the “only available route” was to “let the process take its course”.
In January 2024, Masters confirmed to a UK Parliament select committee hearing that a date for City’s hearing had been set but refused to reveal it.
What punishments await City?
The potential punishments are outlined in rule W.51 of the Premier League’s handbook, with a range of potential options for the panel to consider if City are found to have broken the rules.
Sanctions range from a reprimand and fines to points deductions — and even expulsion from the Premier League.
Any points deduction could be applied when the decision is made or retrospectively, raising the prospect of City being stripped of titles.
“I would expect that if there is a points deduction, it would be applied going forward,” James Hill, a legal director specialising in sports regulatory matters at Onside Law, told The Athletic in 2023.
“Generally, panels don’t like deciding titles in a court process. Doing it that way does not give a real tangible punishment to the club.”
According to rule W.51.7, the panel could choose to combine any number of the punishments outlined in the rulebook or impose other sanctions they deem appropriate.
However, any punishment would need to be commensurate with the violation in question, or it could be overturned on appeal.
