Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains the Premier League charges brought against Manchester City, the background to the investigation and the potential punishments, with reports that the process is moving to an appeal.
What is the latest news?
There are reports that an independent tribunal has reached decisions in Manchester City’s 115 charges case.
The reports claim that most of the charges were found to have been proven. Sky Sports News understands that the process is moving to the appeal stage.
The Premier League is not commenting as this is a private and confidential process. It will not be providing any guidance.
A Manchester City spokesperson said: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement of February 2023.
“The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”
What are the charges against Man City?
Manchester City have been charged with breaking Financial Fair Play rules over a nine-year period, which started in 2009 and went on until 2018. They have also been charged with failing to co-operate with Premier League investigations into their finances.
When the Premier League charged City in 2023, its press release detailed alleged rules breaches that added up to 115 in number, but it is believed that the actual number is 130.
During the period in question, Man City, who have denied all the charges against them, won the Premier League three times.
The Premier League’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules are designed to ensure clubs pretty much spend what they earn. You can get around those potentially by inflating how much you’re earning or hiding how much you are spending. In the PSR (Profitability and Sustainability Rules) and FFP era, artificially increasing your revenue could, in theory, allow a club to spend more on transfers and wages.
According to the Premier League, Man City broke the rules over nine seasons by allegedly failing to provide accurate financial information.
Among the charges against City are that they didn’t fully disclose the financial remunerations that were made to one of their managers over a four-year period. The suggestion is that there was a secret contract so one of the managers was getting paid much more than officially stated.
The Premier League also alleges Man City did not comply with UEFA’s FFP rules over a five-year period.
How did the investigation begin?
The alleged rule breaches first came to light in a series of articles published by Der Spiegel in Germany in 2018. They were based on emails obtained by convicted Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto, which also appeared on the Football Leaks website.
It was this story that started a UEFA investigation into Man City in 2019, as well as a Premier League investigation.
In February 2020 City were found guilty of breaking UEFA’s FFP rules and given a two-year European ban and €30m fine – but the ban was lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) five months later and the fine reduced to €10m.
CAS said City showed “blatant disregard of UEFA’s investigative process” but cleared them of “disguising equity funds as sponsorship contribution”. The ruling stated that most of the alleged breaches “were either not established or time-barred,” with UEFA statute only allowing prosecutions within a five-year period.
City said that the CAS ruling was “validation of the club’s position and the body of evidence that it was able to present”.
But the Premier League does not have a cut-off for investigating alleged breaches, which is why it has brought charges against the club going back to 2009.
When the Premier League eventually brought charges against City in February 2023, the club said they were “surprised” by the development and insisted their position was supported by a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence”.
When was the hearing?
City’s hearing in the case against the Premier League ran from September 16 to December 6 2024.
The 12-week hearing was held in front of a three-person independent commission at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London.
The timeframe between the hearing and the judgment was always expected to take several months because of the volume of charges and the amount of information to be reviewed.
What are the possible punishments?
If the commission rules against City, it can punish them in any way it sees fit.
According to Premier League rules, the sanction could be a points deduction, a fine or even expulsion from the Premier League.
Anything is possible because the Premier League does not have set sanctions for financial rule breaches. Clubs decided not to have them because there were fears clubs would break the rules and take the punishment if they knew what that punishment was going to be.
In February 2025, Richard Masters said the Premier League was looking at having a ‘sanctions grid’ – setting out agreed sanctions for different rules breaches – but that is not yet in place.
Everton were deducted six and then two points during the 2023/24 season for PSR breaches, while Nottingham Forest were deducted four points that same season.
Further back, Luton Town – when in the EFL – were deducted 30 points in 2008/09 – 10 for illegal payments to agents and 20 for exiting administration without the required insolvency procedure of a Company Voluntary Arrangement.
More recently in 2021/22, Derby County, also in the EFL, were deducted 21 points – 12 for administration and nine for financial irregularities.
What is the appeals process?
If any of the breaches are proven, it is highly likely City will appeal. In 2014 City chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak said he would rather spend £30m on the best 50 lawyers in the world and sue UEFA for the next 10 years than agree a financial penalty for alleged FFP breaches.
In this case both sides can appeal within 14 days of the judgment. Any appeal would be heard by a new three-person commission. A judgement can be appealed on grounds such as fraud, misconduct, or gross unfairness by the arbitrator. City cannot appeal to CAS.
Premier League rules on appeals:
A party to the proceedings which wishes to challenge a decision of the Commission may do so under Section W of the Premier League Rules.
The Appeal Board is also appointed by the chair of the independent judicial panel Sir Gary Hickinbottom and must have three members, one of whom should have held judicial office, and would sit as the chair of the Appeal Board.
The proceedings of the Appeal Board are also confidential and heard in private.
The Appeal Board has wide discretion in respect of the appeal, and may allow it, dismiss it, or make any order that it deems fit (including varying the order of Commission).
