After three and a half years of waiting, the Manchester City 115 charges case finally produced a verdict. On Friday 25 September, reports from The Athletic and Reuters revealed that an independent commission had found the club guilty on 114 of the 115 charges brought against it by the Premier League. One charge was dismissed.
It is the most consequential disciplinary finding in the competition’s history, and it turns the Manchester City 115 charges from an open question into a finding of fact. It is also, frustratingly for everyone involved, nowhere near the end.
What the Manchester City 115 Charges Verdict Actually Said
The headline number is 114 of the Manchester City 115 charges. The commission, which sat for 12 weeks at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London between 16 September and 6 December 2024, upheld all but one of the allegations.
Two important caveats sit underneath that. First, the Premier League has not officially published the written decision. Everything known publicly comes from sources briefed on the findings, and the League itself declined to comment, citing confidentiality rules that still bind the process.
Second, and this is the part being lost in the noise: no punishment has been announced. The commission established liability. It has not yet decided what happens as a result.
Manchester City’s own statement was deliberately narrow: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality.” The club has denied wrongdoing from the day the charges were filed and has consistently said it holds a comprehensive body of evidence supporting its position.
What the 115 Charges Cover
The Premier League formally referred the club to an independent commission on 6 February 2023. The charges span nine seasons, from 2009/10 to 2017/18, and fall into broad groups:
- Failing to provide accurate financial information across nine seasons, including the true source and value of sponsorship revenue
- Failing to disclose the full remuneration of a manager, allegedly routed through undisclosed side contracts over a four-year period
- Failing to disclose player remuneration accurately
- Breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations over a five-year period
- Failing to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation
That final category matters more than it sounds. A significant share of the Manchester City 115 charges relate not to the original financial conduct but to the club’s conduct during the inquiry itself — and non-cooperation charges have historically attracted heavy sanction in their own right.
Manchester City won three Premier League titles inside the charged window: 2011/12, 2013/14 and 2017/18. That is why “title stripping” has entered the conversation, even though no such sanction has been proposed.
Where the Case Came From
The origin is 2018, when Der Spiegel published a series of investigations based on leaked internal emails obtained by the Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto and published through Football Leaks.
UEFA acted first, years before the Manchester City 115 charges existed. In February 2020 it found the club guilty, imposed a €30m fine and a two-year ban from European competition. The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the ban in July 2020, largely on limitation grounds, and reduced the fine to €10m. The Premier League’s parallel investigation, unbound by UEFA’s time limits, continued for another three years before producing the Manchester City 115 charges.
Why No Punishment Has Been Announced Yet
The Premier League has no sanctions grid for financial breaches. Unlike a red card or a failed drugs test, there is no tariff. The commission has complete discretion, and the tools available to it are extensive:
- Points deductions, applied to the current season or a future one
- Unlimited fines
- Suspension from playing matches
- Expulsion from the Premier League
- Cancellation of player registrations
- Orders to pay compensation
Because the range runs from a fine to expulsion, the sanctions phase of the Manchester City 115 charges case is effectively a second hearing. Both sides will make submissions on what an appropriate penalty looks like. That takes time.
What the Precedents Suggest
Recent comparisons are imperfect but instructive. Everton were docked six points for a profitability and sustainability breach in 2023/24, then a further two. Nottingham Forest lost four points in the same season. Both were single-season overspends, self-reported, with cooperation.
The deeper precedents are heavier. Derby County were docked 21 points in 2021/22 — 12 for administration, nine for financial irregularities. Luton Town lost 30 points in the EFL in 2008/09, including 10 for illegal agent payments. Neither involved anything on the scale of the Manchester City 115 charges, but both show that commissions will reach for large numbers when non-cooperation is part of the picture.
Independent financial analysts have floated figures from 60 to 100 points. Those are speculation, not guidance, and it is worth treating them as such.
The Appeal Route
Either party has 14 days from the judgment to appeal. An appeal is heard by a fresh three-person commission with entirely different membership, appointed by Sir Gary Hickinbottom as chair of the Premier League’s independent judicial panel.
Critically, the club cannot take the Manchester City 115 charges to the Court of Arbitration for Sport this time. Premier League rules confine the dispute to the League’s internal appeals process, and the grounds for appeal are narrow — fraud, misconduct or gross unfairness by the arbitrators.
Reports indicate an appeal is expected.
Four Rivals Already Positioned
In 2024, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham each lodged protective legal notices, preserving their right to claim compensation. The filings were timed against a six-year limitation period running from the November 2018 Football Leaks disclosures.
No damages have been awarded and no claim has been pursued. Any club that did would have to prove its own losses individually — lost prize money, forfeited Champions League revenue, reduced commercial income. That is a separate legal process entirely, and a difficult one. But the notices exist, which tells you how seriously the outcome of the Manchester City 115 charges was taken well before the verdict landed.
What It Means for City Right Now
On the pitch, the Manchester City 115 charges have changed nothing. City arrived at the international break unbeaten with the longest winning run in the division at five, Erling Haaland leading the scoring charts, and a 5-3 win over Sunderland behind them. Enzo Maresca has £320m of new midfield talent to work with after a busy window — our deadline day round-up covered the spending.
Any sanction applies when it is finally determined, not retroactively to a league table. Matchweek 6 resumes on 10 October with City’s position untouched.
Why the Saga Could Run to 2029
The Telegraph reports that a final resolution could still be two to three years away. Sanctions submissions, the sanctions ruling, the appeal against liability, a possible appeal against the penalty, and any subsequent compensation litigation all stack sequentially.
That would put the end of the Manchester City 115 charges saga somewhere around 2029 — more than a decade after the emails that started it, and long after the seasons in question have passed into history. The Premier League’s own official channels will carry any confirmed announcement, while Sky Sports maintains a running explainer of the process.
For now, one thing is settled and one thing is not. The findings are in. What they cost remains entirely open. If the season’s early shape interests you more than the paperwork, our opening weekend review and Arsenal v Chelsea talking points pick up the football.
