Soccer-Man City found guilty on all but one of 115 charges, reports say, with appeal expected

Manchester City have been found guilty of all but one of the 115 alleged ​breaches of the Premier League's financial rules, The Athletic reported on Friday, a potentially seismic development ‌in a ​case that has hung over English football for years. The club are expected to appeal, indicating that the process was not yet complete. They have always denied any wrongdoing.

"The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality," the club said in a statement to British media. "As such Manchester City FC's position remains consistent with the club's statement of February 2023.

"The club 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, free from partisan influence." The Premier League declined to comment.

"It’s a confidential process, we’re not commenting at all," a spokesperson said. A guilty verdict would represent one of the most significant rulings in English football history in a case that has overshadowed the league for more than three years.

The proceedings have raised questions about financial regulation, competitive integrity and how the league enforces its rules against its most successful clubs. ALLEGATIONS SPANNING MORE THAN A DECADE

The Premier League referred City to an independent commission in February 2023 over alleged breaches of financial rules spanning the 2009-10 to 2022-23 seasons. ‌The club have consistently denied wrongdoing. Among the most serious allegations was that City failed in each season from 2009-10 to 2017-18 to provide accurate financial information giving a "true and fair view" of revenues, including sponsorship income, and operating costs.

City hired lawyer David Pannick to lead their defence, while the Premier ‌League was represented by Adam Lewis, according to British media reports. The hearing began on September 16, 2024, and concluded nearly three months later on December 6. The case was heard by an independent commission composed of three people appointed by the independent chair of the Premier League Judicial Panel.

Former City midfielder Rodri said on Friday he had always trusted the club's insistence that it had done nothing wrong and said the players had shared that belief throughout the case. "Hopefully, justice can be done, whatever happens obviously, but I trust in the impunity of that club which I know very well. And they always transmitted their confidence that they’d done everything correctly," he told a press conference on the eve of Spain's Nations League game against England at Wembley.

"Until the moment they’re proved wrong, ⁠we will believe the ​club and I've been there and I know how they work and how they ⁠cooperate," said the midfielder who now plays for Barcelona. European soccer's governing body UEFA banned City from the Champions League for two years by in 2020 after finding the club had overstated sponsorship revenue between 2012 and 2016.

City, however, successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which overturned the ban. Since Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group bought the club in 2008, City have won ⁠eight Premier League titles, the Champions League, four FA Cups and seven League Cups.

City currently top the Premier League after winning each of their opening five matches. Rodri believes nothing can diminish City's achievements.

"What we did, they cannot take out of us. It's something that is not paid by money, it's paid with effort, with partnership, with being shoulder to shoulder every ​day," he said. "We had a lot of successful years and here in Wembley, so I can only tell you that everything was deserved and I'm glad I could live one of the best eras of English football in here," he added referring to City's Cup triumphs at the ⁠stadium.

HIGH STAKES The stakes are particularly high because other clubs have already faced sporting sanctions for breaching financial regulations.

Everton were docked a total of eight points during the 2023-24 season after two separate breaches of the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules, while Nottingham Forest were deducted four points for a breach of the same rules in March 2024. Newcastle United narrowly avoided potential sanctions after selling players before a ⁠June ​30, 2024, financial reporting deadline to comply with spending regulations.

The allegations against City are far broader and cover more than a decade, making the case unprecedented in scale. Lawyers, club executives and supporters across the league have spent years awaiting a verdict. Ian Hargreaves, partner at specialist disputes firm Quillon Law, said the "rumoured verdict is not the end of the story but the beginning of a new phase in what has become one of the most closely watched legal battles in global sport."

The key questions raised, he said, are what sanctions the panel considers proportionate and what guidance can be drawn from previous cases. "There is a wide range ⁠of options, with a transfer ban at the more moderate end of the spectrum and expulsion from the league the most severe repercussion," Hargreaves said.

"There is also the question of whether the panel’s decision can withstand a hard-fought appeal, and on what grounds any challenge might be brought. Much will depend ⁠on the detail of the panel’s findings and reasoning, which will inevitably be closely scrutinised ⁠by both sides." Responding to the reports, Caroline Dinenage, chair of Britain's Culture, Media and Sport select committee, urged that due process be followed while calling for the case to be concluded as quickly as possible.

"The reports ... have profound implications for our national game," Dinenage said in a statement. “The extraordinary length and cost of this process raise serious concerns, and the affair again gives rise to questions about financial fairness across the football pyramid.

“The matter must be allowed to take ‌its course and due process must be followed, but ‌I sincerely hope any further stages are completed as swiftly as is reasonably possible.”