Manchester City confirm appeal against guilty verdict

Manchester City have confirmed they have filed an appeal against an independent commission ruling that found the club guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.

The club wants to overturn the verdict and avoid potentially severe sanctions.

City were charged in February 2023 following a four-year investigation into alleged breaches between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

An independent commission found that City arranged “sham” contracts that misrepresented the true agreements with several commercial partners and relied on similar agreements with others to inflate their revenue and reduce costs artificially, the league said.

It found that several sponsors were required to pay only part of the fees recorded in the relevant agreements, with the balance supplied by the club's owners, Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG).

The commission also identified arrangements funded by ADUG that allowed the City to record lower operating expenses.

The schemes inflated City’s revenue and reduced their costs by more than 900 million pounds ($1.2 billion), creating the appearance that the club complied with financial regulations, the league said.

The club, who had until the end of the day on Friday to appeal, has denied wrongdoing throughout the process.

"Manchester City Football Club can confirm that at 7pm on Thursday 1st October 2026 the Club lodged its comprehensive Appeal against the opinion of the Premier League Commission, in relation to the Premier League disciplinary matter," the club said in a statement.

"The Club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.

"The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case."

The appeal will be heard by an independent three-member board appointed by the chair of the Premier League’s judicial panel.

"The club lodged the appeal to the Chair of the Judicial Panel," the league said in a statement. "The independent Appeal Board hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted."

The English top-flight new fast-track rules state that the deadline for an appeal hearing is within 12 weeks of an appeal being lodged, with a decision due within 30 days of the hearing concluding.

Some legal commentators expect City to argue that those rules did not exist when the club were originally charged in February 2023.