In February 2023 the Premier League referred more than 100 alleged breaches of its financial rules by Manchester City, covering 2009 to 2018 and later co-operation, to an independent Commission. City denied wrongdoing and separately challenged the league's associated party transaction rules. In September 2026 the Commission found the financial charges proved, and City has appealed.
An independent Commission found Manchester City in breach of all the financial rule charges for 2009/10 to 2017/18 and of three of four co-operation charges. City denies wrongdoing and has appealed to an Appeal Board, and no sanction has been set.
The Premier League began investigating Manchester City's finances in December 2018, according to the league's statement of September 2026, which described a four year investigation before charges were brought.
The Premier League said it had referred alleged breaches of its rules by Manchester City to an independent Commission. The allegations concerned accurate financial information from 2009/10 to 2017/18, disclosure of manager and player pay, UEFA licensing and Financial Fair Play rules, the league's Profitability and Sustainability rules, and co-operation with the investigation since December 2018.
Manchester City said it was surprised by the charges, welcomed review by an independent commission and said it had irrefutable evidence supporting its position, ITV News reported. Media reports counted more than 100 alleged breaches.
ITV NewsThe Premier League blocked proposed Manchester City sponsorship deals with Etihad Airways and First Abu Dhabi Bank under its Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, which require clubs to submit dealings with associated parties for fair value review, Sky Sports reported. City then challenged the rules in arbitration.
The independent commission hearing on the charges began on 16 September 2024, according to The Guardian. AFP had reported on 13 September that it would begin the following Monday and could last at least two months, with a decision not expected until 2025. City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak had said earlier that year that the repeated references to the charges were frustrating.
An arbitral tribunal found that excluding shareholder loans from APT assessments, and the process for telling clubs about benchmarking decisions, were unlawful, and said the league's rejection of two sponsorship deals must be set aside, according to The Guardian. City said it had succeeded. The league said the tribunal upheld the APT system as a whole and rejected most of City's challenges.
The Commission's hearing on the 2023 charges ended in December 2024 after 42 days, the Premier League later said.
Manchester City began a new arbitration on 20 January 2025 challenging the league's amended APT rules, including their treatment of shareholder loans, and a trial was set for October 2025, Sky Sports reported.
The APT tribunal released its full reasons and declared the APT rules in force from 2021 to 2024 void and unenforceable, Sky Sports reported. City treated this as a significant win.
The Premier League said it and Manchester City had settled the club's 2025 arbitration over the APT rules, ending the proceedings before the planned October trial. City accepted that the current rules are valid and binding. Sky Sports noted the settlement was separate from the financial charges, which City denied.
The Premier League said the independent Commission found Manchester City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of its financial rules from 2009/10 to 2017/18. According to the league, the Commission found sham sponsorship arrangements part funded by Abu Dhabi United Group, which then owned the club, sham arrangements to understate costs and a sham circular arrangement over player image rights, which the league said were used to artificially inflate revenue and reduce costs by more than 900 million pounds.
Al JazeeraThe Commission also found City breached the rule requiring co-operation with league investigations on three of the four alleged counts, the league said, finding the club made concerted efforts to frustrate the four year inquiry. One co-operation allegation was not proved.
The league published a redacted Core Decision, saying the Commission had ruled, and an Appeal Board confirmed, that it was a final award that could be published. No sanction has been set. A separate private sanction hearing before the Commission is to follow. Al Jazeera reported that possible penalties include a points deduction, a fine or expulsion.
Manchester City said it was disappointed and surprised by the decision, maintained its innocence and said it would appeal, Al Jazeera reported. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said elements of the case, including sanction, remained to be decided.
Al JazeeraCity lodged its appeal with the Chair of the Judicial Panel at 7pm on 1 October 2026, ahead of the Friday deadline, Reuters and Sky Sports reported. The club said it was innocent of the league's accusations and that the Commission's opinion was unsafe.
The Premier League confirmed City's appeal, which will be heard in private by an independent Appeal Board. Under the league's rules Appeal Boards have three members and are chaired by a member who has held judicial office. The Board can allow or dismiss the appeal or vary the Commission's order. The statement gave no hearing dates.
Reuters reported that the Football Association said the Commission's decision had significant implications for the integrity of the game and that it was closely monitoring the case, and that the chair of Parliament's Treasury Committee had written to HM Revenue and Customs asking what action it was taking. Reuters said the league's fast track rules call for an appeal hearing within 12 weeks and a decision within 30 days after it.
David Kogan, chair of the Independent Football Regulator, told Times Radio he understood the appeal could be heard by mid to late January 2027, AFP reported. He said the regulator does not run the hearing. No sanction had been announced.
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Citizen Digital (AFP) · citizen.digitalLast updated 1 November 2026. Spotted an error? See corrections. Every event links to the record it comes from. Allegations are attributed to whoever made them.