Manchester City found guilty on most of 115 charges, reports say

The latest:

An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of the majority of the financial-rule breaches brought against it by the Premier League, multiple British and international outlets reported on September 25, 2026. The Athletic put the finding at 114 of the 115 charges. BBC Sport, citing its own sources, reported a guilty finding on most of the alleged breaches without specifying a number. No punishment was announced.

Details:

• The mechanism: The 115-charge case is not being heard in a criminal or civil court. It runs through the Premier League’s own disciplinary system before an independent commission, under confidentiality rules that have kept the hearing and its reasoning out of public view. Separate disputes between club and league went to arbitration instead.
• The club’s response: Manchester City did not accept the reporting as the conclusion of the case. In a response carried by several outlets, the club said the Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements still to be completed and the proceedings subject to strict confidentiality. Reports said City is expected to appeal.
• What the charges cover: The allegations fall into categories rather than 115 versions of one offence. A large share concerns whether City supplied accurate financial information from seasons beginning in 2009-10. Others involve sponsorship revenue, operating costs, payments to managers and players, UEFA financial rules and the league’s profitability and sustainability regulations.
• Non-cooperation: A further group of charges concerns City’s alleged failure to cooperate fully with the Premier League investigation, which ran four years before the February 2023 charge sheet. City has consistently denied wrongdoing and said it possessed a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” supporting its position.
• The UEFA precedent: UEFA banned City from European competition for two seasons in 2020 over alleged Financial Fair Play violations. The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the ban, finding some breaches unproven and others time-barred, but fined the club for failing to cooperate. The Premier League case runs under a different framework.
• The delay: The commission began hearing the case in 2024 and sat for weeks. As recently as August 2026, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters acknowledged frustration at how long the decision was taking but said confidentiality prevented him from setting out any timetable.
• The separate APT fight: City also challenged the league’s Associated Party Transaction rules, governing deals between clubs and companies linked to their owners. A 2024 tribunal upheld parts of City’s case on shareholder loans and procedural fairness; the league said the framework’s objectives were endorsed, while City called it a significant legal victory.
• How APT ended: A February 2025 ruling held that the unlawful elements could not be severed, making the old rules unenforceable as a whole, though the tribunal did not rule on the replacement rules clubs approved in November 2024. City challenged those too, before a September 2025 settlement accepting them as valid and binding.
• Possible consequences: Reporting after the decision discussed sanctions ranging from fines and points deductions to heavier sporting penalties, none established. BBC Sport reported that several Premier League clubs had already taken legal advice on compensation claims, which would require them to show specific losses caused by the breaches.

Background:

The charged seasons begin in 2009-10, shortly after Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s 2008 takeover reshaped the club. City went on to win multiple Premier League titles and the Champions League, making the period under examination the same period that built its dominance.

Between the lines:

Two things reported on the same day point in opposite directions: outlets describe a guilty finding on most charges, while the club describes a process with significant elements still to be completed. Both can hold, because liability, sanction and appeal are distinct stages of the commission’s system. The confidentiality that delayed the decision now also shapes what is known about it, since the full reasoning has not been released.

What’s next

Watch for formal publication or confirmation of the commission’s findings, the sanction attached to any proven breaches, the scope of City’s expected appeal, and whether rival clubs convert legal advice into compensation claims.