News Made Clear · Loading…
The FA says the Manchester City ruling has significant implications for football’s integrity, but has announced no specific action.
What has changed? · 02/10/2026, 11:46 UTC
Review information is loading.
There is little appetite within the Premier League or its clubs to strip Manchester City of past titles, BBC Sport reports. But the decision rests with an independent panel, which has yet to hold a sanction hearing. City has denied wrongdoing, while BBC Sport says the club was found guilty of a majority of the 115 charges in the league’s financial-rules case. [1]
City won eight trophies between 2009 and 2018, including three Premier League titles. The case includes allegations of inflated sponsorship revenue and off-the-books payments. A separate accusation concerns City’s co-operation with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to February 2023. [1]
Premier League rules list fines, points deductions and expulsion as possible sanctions. They do not expressly list title-stripping, but allow the panel to impose a penalty it considers appropriate. BBC Sport says that could theoretically include retrospective points deductions or the removal of titles, though it considers a points deduction, a large fine or possibly expulsion more likely. [1]
No decision has been made to remove City’s past titles. The independent panel must hold its sanction hearing before deciding the punishment. [1]
The Premier League says Manchester City has until Friday 2 October to appeal the independent commission’s findings of financial-rule breaches. City says it will pursue the appeal avenues open to it, arguing that the decision contains material errors of law, principle and fact. The club continues to maintain its innocence. [3] [5]
The deadline concerns the findings, not a punishment. The Premier League says sanctions will be considered at a separate, private hearing before the commission. It has not announced a date for that hearing. [3]
BBC Sport also reports that its enquiries to police forces, the National Crime Agency, HMRC and the Serious Fraud Office produced no indication that a criminal investigation had begun. Some of those bodies do not routinely confirm whether an inquiry is under way.
21 listed sources · explore evidence, limitations and provenance.
Sign in to give this article a thumbs up or down.
Private test discussion. Comments are readers’ views and are not yet automatically fact-checked. Editing is available for 60 seconds after posting.
Sign in with a confirmed reader account and choose a username to read comments and participate.
Sorting applies to top-level comments; replies remain oldest first. New comments and likes can change the order. Refresh for the current ranking.
Loading comments…
Senior football figures want Manchester City’s punishment for breaches of Premier League rules decided before the end of the 2026/27 season, BBC Sport’s Dan Roan reported on 30 September. An anonymous club official said a swift resolution would benefit everyone and expected one, while stressing that the process must be handled properly. A second unnamed source said it should be resolved by season’s end and hoped any appeal would be compressed. [14]
An independent commission found the charges against City proved apart from Charge 4(B). The punishment will be decided at a separate, private hearing. City disputes the findings and says it will pursue its appeal options. It has until Friday 2 October to appeal the findings. [4] [3] [5]
The Premier League says it wants the full process, including appeals, concluded as soon as possible, but has announced no date for the sanctions hearing. Under its standard directions, an appeal hearing must end within 12 weeks of filing, with a reasoned decision due within a further 30 days. Those directions can be varied. [3] [15]
BBC Sport also reported that Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has suggested the case will run for a long time — a different expectation from the unnamed figures’ hopes for a resolution this season. [14]
The Football Association said on 2 October that the independent commission’s Manchester City verdict had “significant implications for the integrity of the game”. English football’s governing body said it was considering the decision, would act where appropriate and would monitor the continuing proceedings between the Premier League and City. It announced no specific measure. [17]
The commission upheld charges concerning serious breaches of Premier League financial rules over nine seasons, from 2009/10 to 2017/18. The league says the arrangements inflated revenues and reduced costs by more than £900m over that period. The commission upheld most, but not all, of the allegations that City failed to co-operate with the investigation. [4] [19]