Manchester City’s guilty verdict in the Premier League financial case has not ended anything yet. No sanction has been announced, an appeal is coming, and the club is still playing, and winning, while the process runs. Here is where things stand and what could happen next.
Manchester City 115 charges: what the verdict said
According to Al Jazeera, citing AFP, an independent commission found City guilty of more than 100 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. The Athletic reported on 25 September 2026 that the club had been found guilty on all but one of the 115 charges it faced. Reuters later confirmed, citing a source, that the figure was 114 of 115.
The breaches relate to the period from 2009 to 2018. The case began after Der Spiegel published leaked documents from City executives in 2018. The club has always denied wrongdoing.
Quick facts
- Verdict: guilty on 114 of 115 charges, per Reuters
- Period covered: 2009 to 2018
- Sanction announced: none yet
- Club position: denies wrongdoing and is appealing
- Appeal timing: expected to be heard by January, per Independent Football Regulator chair David Kogan
Man City appeal: when will it be heard?
Kogan told Times Radio that the appeal is expected to be heard by January. He pointed to a “prescribed process” of 12 weeks, which suggests mid or late January. AFP noted that the process belongs to the Premier League’s independent commission, made up of three retired judges or lawyers, rather than to the regulator. The Premier League is also said to want the matter settled within the season.
That is the optimistic version. A source told Reuters the overall process could take years to conclude, and City’s owners could also challenge how the arbitration was conducted in England’s High Court.
What sanctions could Manchester City face?
Premier League rules allow a points deduction, a fine or expulsion from the division. The precedents most people point to are the points deductions handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest in 2023-24. Al Jazeera’s analysis said a guilty verdict on this many charges would make relegation close to certain if a sanction were applied in full, though that is a reading of the situation rather than a ruling.
There is a real dispute over timing. A sanction applied before the appeal is heard could mean City being relegated before any verdict is overturned. A sanction applied afterwards could change who finishes where, and who qualifies for Europe, once the season is already well advanced. Rival clubs are also expected to pursue compensation worth hundreds of millions of pounds, according to the same report.
Talk of City being stripped of their league titles from 2009 to 2018 is widely repeated, but it is speculation. Tony Pulis, whose Stoke City side lost the 2011 FA Cup final to City, said a points deduction and a fine looked more likely than stripped trophies.
How Manchester City have responded
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak wrote to supporters saying the club’s confidence in proving its innocence is as strong as when the case began. Chief executive Ferran Soriano told the European Football Clubs board that City would do everything to clear its name, and declined to comment on the findings themselves.
On the pitch, manager Enzo Maresca has said he completely trusts the club and expects it to win the appeal. When AFP reported in mid-October, City were top of the Premier League with six wins from six. Al Jazeera also reported that the verdict had so far had little visible effect on City’s ability to attract and keep top players, with the club spending around £460 million in its latest transfer window and Erling Haaland having signed a nine-year deal in 2025. Whether players could negotiate exits if City were hit hard remains unclear.
Other reactions from the game
Reaction has been sharp. Mauricio Pochettino said that if the findings are true they would confirm “a period of deception” in the sport, and La Liga president Javier Tebas said City should face the “most severe sanction” if the rules were broken. Those are opinions from interested parties, and none of it changes the legal position: the guilty finding stands unless the appeal succeeds.
What to watch next
- The date set for the appeal hearing, expected by January.
- Whether the commission announces a sanction before or after that hearing.
- City’s league match against Fulham at the Etihad Stadium, listed for Saturday 21 November, when the Premier League returns from the international break.
We will keep following the story. For more on the wider picture, see our Football News section, and for how points and tie-breakers work if deductions do arrive, read our guide to Premier League points and tie-breakers.
Until the appeal is heard, the safest summary is that City are guilty on paper, unpunished in practice, and still competing for the title.
Sources: Al Jazeera (29 September and 14 October 2026, citing AFP and Reuters), The Athletic as cited by Al Jazeera, fifplay Premier League fixtures (20 October 2026). Article date: 14 November 2026.
