Manchester City say the Premier League's case against them "remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality", after The Athletic reported on Friday that an independent commission had found the club guilty on all but one of the 115 charges brought in February 2023.

According to The Athletic, no sanction has been decided and City are expected to appeal. BBC Sport reported separately that its own sources said a decision had been made, that City had been found guilty of the majority of the breaches, and that other Premier League clubs had been informed.

Neither the club nor the league has confirmed the finding. City's statement did not address it directly. The Premier League declined to comment, with a spokesperson telling Reuters: "It's a confidential process, we're not commenting at all."

City's statement pointed back to the position they took in February 2023, when they said they had a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence in their favour. It ended with a line about the league itself.

The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.

Manchester City statement, Friday 25 September

What City were charged with

The Premier League referred the case to an independent commission on 6 February 2023. The alleged breaches of its financial rules cover the nine seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18, and a further set of charges alleges that City failed to cooperate with the league's investigation from December 2018 until the charges were brought.

According to Sky Sports' breakdown, 54 charges concern the provision of accurate financial information, in particular on revenue including sponsorship, related parties and operating costs. Fourteen relate to manager and player pay, five to UEFA's rules including Financial Fair Play, seven to the league's profitability and sustainability rules, and 35 to the investigation. City won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three League Cups in those nine seasons. They have always denied wrongdoing.

The case was heard between 16 September and 6 December 2024 by a three-person commission appointed by the independent chair of the Premier League Judicial Panel.

What is still not known

Under the league's rules, the commission's final award is published on the Premier League website. The league has not announced a decision or a sanction, and none of the reports has named the three members of the commission.

What the sanctions could be

The Premier League has no fixed tariff for financial breaches. Its rules allow a fine, a points deduction or expulsion from the league, Sky Sports reported. Recent cases were far narrower: Everton were deducted six points on appeal and then two more in 2023/24, and Nottingham Forest four in the same season, each for breaching the profitability and sustainability rules.

Ian Hargreaves, a partner at the disputes firm Quillon Law, told Reuters the options ran from a transfer ban at the moderate end of the spectrum to expulsion at the most severe.

What an appeal would mean

According to Sky Sports, either side can appeal within 14 days of the judgment. The appeal would go to a new three-person Appeal Board, which can allow it, dismiss it or vary the commission's order, and sanctions would be set at a separate hearing. City cannot take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which overturned the two-year Champions League ban UEFA gave them in 2020. Sky Sports News said it understood the process was moving to the appeal stage.

Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, said the reports had profound implications for the national game. Due process had to be followed, she said, but she hoped any further stages would be completed as swiftly as reasonably possible.

None of it has touched City on the pitch yet. They are top of the table with 15 points from five games, three clear of Arsenal after the 5-3 win over Sunderland, and Enzo Maresca's side return from the international break at Anfield on 11 October.