Manchester City 115 Charges: Guilty on 114 Counts

Manchester City have been found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges brought by the Premier League over alleged financial rule breaches, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein, who broke the story on Friday, September 25, 2026. The verdict, issued by an independent commission, is one of the most significant rulings in the history of English football - and it lands more than three and a half years after the club was charged in February 2023.

The club has denied wrongdoing throughout and is expected to appeal. No sanctions have been announced yet, and the punishment - which could include a heavy points deduction, a substantial fine, or even expulsion from the Premier League - will be decided at a separate sanctions hearing that has not yet been scheduled.

What the commission decided

According to reporting by The Athletic, BBC Sport, Al Jazeera and Reuters, the independent commission found the club guilty on all but one of the charges. The charges centered on alleged failures to provide accurate financial information across seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18 - including sponsorship income, operating costs and details of manager and player remuneration - as well as alleged non-cooperation with the league's investigation.

Nothing is official yet. No formal announcement has been made, the Premier League has declined to comment, and the written judgment is not public. "It's a confidential process, we're not commenting at all," a league spokesperson said, according to Reuters. The Guardian reports that club executives were informed of the verdict on Thursday and asked to sign non-disclosure agreements.

In a statement to British media, Manchester City said: "The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality." The club added that its position "remains consistent with the club's statement of February 2023," and that it has "diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair minded regulator."

How the Manchester City case developed

The road to this verdict stretches back nearly two decades. Here is how the biggest financial case in English football history developed:

• September 2008: Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, buys Manchester City, bankrolling the club's rise from mid-table to the top of English football.
• 2018: The German magazine Der Spiegel publishes leaked emails allegedly showing owner money disguised as sponsorship - including from the airline Etihad - to circumvent financial rules. City says the emails were obtained illegally.
• 2020: UEFA bans City from European competition over financial fair play breaches. The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturns the ban, finding most breaches either not established or time-barred.

The legal endgame played out in private:

• February 2023: The Premier League refers City to an independent commission over alleged breaches of its financial rules between 2009-10 and 2022-23, opening the case.
• Late 2024: The independent commission hearing concludes, beginning a long wait of around 22 months for a verdict.
• September 25, 2026: The Athletic reports the verdict - guilty on all but one charge - more than three and a half years after City were charged.

What punishment Manchester City could face

BBC Sport reported that the likeliest sanctions are a heavy points deduction, a substantial fine, or possibly expulsion from the Premier League. Recent domestic precedents give a sense of scale: Everton were docked six points for a single breach in 2023-24, Nottingham Forest four points for a single breach, and Derby County 21 points in 2021-22. None of those cases involved anything close to that many breaches.

One option appears unlikely for now: the stripping of past titles. Three of City's league titles fall inside the 2009-10 to 2017-18 window - 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2017-18 - and stripping any of them would be unprecedented in the English game. BBC Sport editor Dan Roan reported that there is "little appetite" among the league and its clubs for that step. Still, he noted, it "cannot be ruled out," since the final call on penalties rests with the independent panel, not the league.

Beyond the league's own sanctions, compensation claims are gathering. Four clubs have already filed protective legal claims against City, according to reports, with other clubs seeking legal advice - meaning the financial fallout could extend well beyond whatever sporting penalty is imposed.

Why the Manchester City ruling matters

For fans, this is about the integrity of what they have watched. City's 2011-12 title - sealed by Sergio Aguero's 93:20 winner against QPR - is one of the most iconic moments in Premier League history, and it sits squarely inside the period covered by the charges. If the titles are left untouched, rival supporters will argue an asterisk exists anyway; if they are, the league would be rewriting its own history for the first time.

For football's governance, the case is a test of whether the Premier League can discipline its most successful club. The contrast with the UEFA case is instructive: there, the Court of Arbitration for Sport threw out most of the case on time-bar grounds. The Premier League's rules carry no such time limitation, which is why charges from 2009 could still land in 2026 - and why, according to BBC Sport, City cannot take this one to the Court of Arbitration for Sport this time.

For the club, the next steps are clear but slow: a sanctions hearing that is reportedly still months away, then an expected appeal that will stretch the process further. City have denied wrongdoing at every stage, and until the legal process runs its course, the guilty findings remain a reported verdict rather than an official one. Football supporters should expect this story to run for at least another season.

On September 26, a day after the verdict broke, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak issued a letter to supporters insisting the fight is far from over. According to Insider Sport, he wrote that the process "still has a long way to run" and that the club remains as confident of proving its innocence as when the case began - while adding that strict confidentiality prevents him from sharing more for now.

Not everyone is sympathetic. The Manchester United Supporters' Trust has called for the strictest possible sanctions on City to deter owners who "damage the heritage and community value of English clubs," according to The Peoples Person - a reminder that whatever the panel decides, rival fans will measure it against the scale of the verdict.

Source: Reuters, September 25, 2026; Insider Sport, September 28, 2026; reporting on the verdict and possible sanctions

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