Manchester City has been deemed guilty of gross violation of financial rules in the English Premier League after a lengthy investigation of financial affairs of the club.
An independent commission delivered the decision on September 29, 2026, declaring that Manchester City had violated the financial rules in the nine-season period from 2009/10 to 2017/18. In addition, most of the charges related to City’s cooperation with the Premier League’s investigation were confirmed.
The case dubbed as ‘115 charges’ was opened in February 2023 when the Premier League referred Manchester City to an independent commission due to a series of allegations against the club.
The claims of the case included lack of proper accounting, inaccurate disclosure of payments made to players and managers, violation of UEFA financial rules, and breaching the Premier League’s financial and sustainability regulations.
According to Premier League, the commission revealed that City had engaged in misleading commercial arrangements with some of the sponsors thus causing inaccurate accounting. The commission found three out of four breaches regarding cooperation with the investigation to be valid.
Manchester City has denied the allegations and expressed its intention to appeal the findings of the independent commission. The deadline for lodging the appeal is October 2, 2026.
Penalty imposed on Manchester City has yet to be determined. A separate hearing will be held in order to impose a penalty on Manchester City under Premier League rules.
