Editor's Note: This was originally published March 19, 2025. We have republished and updated this explainer of the facts -- the charges levied against Manchester City, and potential punishments -- along with insight as to the duration of the proceedings in light of Friday's news reports, which City are denying at this time. This is another explainer, from February 2026, shining light on why the process is taking so long.
What are the charges against Manchester City?
They relate to the seasons between 2009-10 and 2022-23 and cover a range of alleged breaches -- the most serious being false accounting, with respect to providing accurate financial information on revenue (including sponsorship revenue), related parties and operating costs. There are other alleged breaches, including irregularities in player and manager remuneration and, in more recent seasons, failure to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation.
If the charges relate to alleged breaches, why are they coming to light only now?
Because much of this issue relates to the "Football Leaks," when internal documents -- "leaked" say the perpetrators, "stolen or false" say some of the victims -- relating to a range of soccer-related issues were made public. German newsmagazine Der Spiegel had access to the cache of documents -- including internal emails -- and published stories accusing Manchester City of flouting financial fair play rules, which regulate how clubs can generate revenue. This led to investigations by UEFA and, later, by the Premier League.
In February 2020, UEFA's investigation found Manchester City guilty and banned them from European football for two seasons while fining them €30 million. The ban was overturned five months later by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on the basis that some charges had exceeded the statute of limitations and others were "not established" by UEFA. City were also fined €10 million for failing to cooperate with the investigation.
Why is the Premier League's case taking so long?
It's a combination of the league's own rules and the many legal challenges City have brought over the years, contesting jurisdiction and other legal matters. Consider that officials only announced the investigation in March 2019, then went years without telling anyone what was going on or even if the case was dropped. (In fact, it was Her Majesty's Court of Appeals that informed us in 2021 that it was still ongoing, following another legal challenge.)
By the time the charges were brought, in February 2023, nearly 4½ years had passed. And the hearing itself didn't begin until Sept. 16, 2024, some 19 months later. That hearing lasted 12 weeks, until Dec. 6 of last year. As for why everything took so long, we can only speculate, but it's a combination of the aforementioned legal challenges, the sheer number, volume and complexity of the charges, and the difficulty in selecting the three-person, independent arbitration panel who will ultimately issue a judgment. The arbitrators are agreed upon by both parties -- City and the Premier League.
So if the hearing ended Dec. 6, why don't we have a verdict yet?
Again, we can only speculate, because nobody outside of the panel really knows -- not even Pep Guardiola, who said he "thinks" it will be resolved by the end of March.
The panel have to come up with a verdict that both satisfies U.K. law (otherwise there is a risk of further lawsuits) and is likely to stand up on appeal by whichever party loses. There's also the possibility that the panel could issue the judgment and then, if City are found guilty on all or some of the charges, come up with sanctions at a later date, kicking the can further down the road.
If City are found guilty, what sort of punishments can be imposed on them?
Just about anything. The Premier League intentionally chose not to have set punishments for financial rule breaches because it feared clubs might be calculating enough to break rules and take the punishment if they knew ahead of time what it was going to be. So the full set of sanctions is available. It's everything from fines to points deductions (in the current season and past seasons, which would mean stripping titles) to transfer/registration bans of players to expulsion from the Premier League to -- ominously -- making "such other order as it thinks fit."
That last one could really mean anything.
But when a verdict is finally issued, if City are found guilty and a punishment set, then it's all over, right?
Ha! If only. It's extremely likely, especially if the verdict weighs heavily to one side or the other, that the side that has "lost" will file an appeal straight away, as is its right. So if the verdict comes in this month -- which, again, is by no means guaranteed -- then it will likely be another six to eight months until the appeal is heard.
If City are found guilty, their legal woes won't end there. A number of clubs have filed paperwork reserving the right to seek compensation from City for loss of income derived from missing out on European competitions and league titles if the club is found guilty. So this won't be over when the verdict drops. Far from it.
