New Man City statement confirms appeal against guilty 114 charges verdict: What happens now?

By Oliver Thomas | 02 Oct 2026 12:45, Last updated: 02 Oct 2026 12:46

Manchester City have confirmed that they have lodged an appeal against their guilty verdict in the Premier League financial breaches case.

The Citizens say that its “comprehensive appeal” was lodged at 7pm on Thursday, October 1, before the deadline on Friday.

In a new statement released by Man City, they say: “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.

“We will continue to respect due process and are necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete.”

Earlier on Friday, the Football Association broke their silence on the matter, stating that the decision made by the three-person independent commission “has significant implications for the integrity of the game.”

Man City continue to plead their innocence after the Premier League issued a damning document on Tuesday that confirmed the club have been found guilty of all charges in relation to serious breaches of the league’s financial rules and the majority of charges relating to its failure to co-operate with the investigation.

The independent commission found that Man City arranged "sham" contracts with a number of commercial partners to disguise secret funding of more than £830m and artificially inflate revenues between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

Richard Masters, CEO of the Premier League, has said that the findings show that Man City "systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade."

Under section W of the Premier League rules, Man City’s appeal will be heard by a new three-person independent commission, but no new evidence can be put forward by either the Citizens or the Premier League.

The new independent commission will be tasked with assessing whether the previous panel have made any errors of law, misinterpreted the rules, or acted with gross unfairness – which is essentially what Man City claim has happened in their appeal statement.

Under Premier League regulations, an appeal decision should ideally be reached within 12 weeks of the hearing, but this specific rule – which was only introduced this summer – can be waived if necessary, leaving the exact timeline uncertain.

While past precedents suggest that any sanctions against Man City would only be enforced after this initial appeal is resolved, this is not guaranteed.

Consequently, a second appeal could follow later in the process to challenge any punishments ultimately handed down to the club.

Man City’s case could ultimately be sent to the High Court, but the club cannot appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) who famously overturned their UEFA punishment in 2020. This is because the Premier League is a private, domestic competition that does not use CAS for its financial rule dispute.

As part of their appeal, Man City will argue that their primary sponsorship deals were legitimately funded by the Abu Dhabi government rather than the club's direct ownership.

The independent commission previously alleged that the club's ownership – Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), led by Sheikh Mansour – funnelled more than £830m into the club via a ‘disguised funding scheme’ to artificially meet Premier League and UEFA financial regulations.

While Premier League rules explicitly permit state-owned entities to sponsor clubs, masking owner capital injections as commercial revenue is prohibited.

In response, Man City’s chief sponsor, Etihad Airways, have issued a strongly-worded statement confirming that they are considering legal action against the Premier League to protect its brand.

The UAE's state-owned carrier – owned by a sovereign wealth fund chaired by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi – “categorically rejects” any implication that it participated in improper commercial arrangements.

Should Man City’s guilty verdict be upheld, the club could be in danger of a wide range of sanctions including huge fines, transfer bans, points deductions leading to relegation, stripping of titles, expulsion and the removal of their Abu Dhabi-based owners.

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