Report: Man City guilty of most charges in 115-count Premier League case

A verdict has reportedly been reached in the Premier League's 115-charge case against Manchester City, with a sanction hearing and an expected appeal still ahead.

A ruling has been delivered in the Premier League's long-running case against Manchester City, with The Athletic reporting that the club was found guilty of the majority of the 115 counts. The outcome arrives 1,329 days after City were charged and two years and 10 days after the hearing opened. Confirmation did not come from the league or the club. BBC Sport was informed that the decision went to club executives during the week, and that they had to sign a non-disclosure agreement before opening the file.

City issued a statement that avoided addressing the question of guilt, framing the matter as one where the process is still playing out and setting up an appeal. The Premier League has offered no public comment. On that reading, the panel's decision closes an opening chapter rather than the case itself, and confusion over punishment and timing now dominates the picture for supporters and the wider game.

Given how serious the counts are, a deduction of points is regarded as close to unavoidable, though any penalty would remain subject to City's appeal. The club has denied wrongdoing throughout. How and when a punishment is applied will matter far beyond the Etihad, and there is also the prospect of rival clubs pursuing compensation claims through the courts.

Because City contest the charges, the independent panel must now convene a separate hearing to determine the sanction. BBC Sport understands that session could still be months away, and its result might stay unpublished until the appeal has run its course. Fines, deductions and even demotion are all options available to the panel.

The situation contrasts with Chelsea's matter earlier this year, in which the Stamford Bridge club reported its own breaches, admitted guilt and negotiated a penalty with the league. A similar admission from City looks improbable after years of firm denial, even if a negotiated outcome would suit the competition better.

Precedents offer a gauge of scale. Everton were docked six points, trimmed from ten on appeal, and then two more in a separate profit and sustainability case, while Nottingham Forest lost four — all treated as minor matters. City, by contrast, faced seven separate PSR counts in the Premier League alone plus five tied to Uefa competitions, alongside allegations of inflated sponsorship revenue booked through company accounts, payments to players and managers, and a failure to cooperate with investigators. That arithmetic alone points toward a heavy points penalty.

The ruling also hangs over the competition's record between 2009 and 2018, a period in which two of its most successful clubs, Chelsea and City, circumvented financial rules — Chelsea by admission, City by adjudication — allowing signings their true finances might not otherwise have supported. Should this season end with guilt established but no sanction settled, questions about competitive integrity will follow, and backdating any penalty to the current campaign is considered unlikely.

One scenario involves no punishment being announced this season. Coventry presently sit third from the foot of the table, and a relegation that could have been avoided had City's penalty landed now would deepen the damage. A negotiated settlement is arguably the tidiest exit, but it would force the league to bargain with a club expected to push for a lighter penalty.

A second scenario sees a penalty imposed this season while the appeal proceeds. Points deductions are normally applied immediately, and one large enough to amount to relegation is possible; how a revocation of membership would operate mid-season is unknown. A record fine cannot be excluded but looks improbable given how other clubs were punished, and although regulations ordinarily allow 14 days to lodge an appeal, neither the league nor City has commented. City are due at Liverpool on 11 October when play resumes after the international break, with the chance to open a six-point advantage at the top — a target whose meaning the verdict has suddenly thrown into doubt.