Manchester City could face a range of sanctions after an independent commission found the club guilty of 114 of the 115 financial-rule charges brought against them.
The sanctions are yet to be determined, while City are expected to appeal the verdict.
The case relates to alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons, as well as alleged failures by the club to co-operate with the league’s investigation.
The Premier League charged City in February 2023 with 115 alleged breaches. The charges included 54 relating to financial information, 14 concerning player and manager payments, five involving UEFA regulations, including Financial Fair Play rules, seven concerning the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, and 35 relating to alleged failures to co-operate with the investigation.
The league’s disciplinary rules allow an independent commission to impose several sanctions.
Points deduction
City could be handed a points deduction, potentially affecting their Premier League position.
The league has previously imposed points deductions for financial breaches. Everton, for example, initially received a 10-point deduction for breaching the Profitability and Sustainability Rules, which was later reduced to six points following an appeal.
No publicly established points tariff applies to the City case, so any deduction would depend on the commission’s assessment of the breaches and relevant mitigating factors.
Fine
The commission can impose an unlimited fine, with no fixed maximum amount under the disciplinary rules.
There is currently no indication of how much City could be ordered to pay if the commission imposes a financial penalty.
Suspension from Premier League matches
The commission can also suspend a club from playing Premier League matches for a period it considers appropriate.
Such a sanction would have a significant sporting impact on City, although the commission has not indicated it intends to impose a suspension.
Player-registration restrictions
The disciplinary framework also allows the commission to cancel or refuse player registrations in certain circumstances.
This could potentially restrict City’s ability to register players, although there is no indication that such a punishment will be imposed.
Compensation
Another possible sanction is an order for City to pay compensation.
The rules do not set a stated monetary limit on the amount of compensation that can be awarded.
Could Man City be stripped of Premier League titles?
The possibility of City losing titles won during the period covered by the charges has also attracted attention.
Title stripping is not expressly listed among the commission’s named sanctions. However, the Premier League’s disciplinary rules give the commission broad powers to impose a combination of penalties or ‘such other penalty as it shall think fit’.
City won three Premier League titles during the period covered by the case: 2011/12, 2013/14 and 2017/18.
However, the Premier League has no established precedent for stripping a club of a title over financial-rule breaches, leaving the possibility uncertain.
Expulsion from the Premier League
The most severe potential sanction would be expulsion from the Premier League.
The league’s rules allow an independent commission to recommend that a club be expelled from its membership.
No domestic precedent exists for a financial case of this nature resulting in expulsion.
City previously faced a major European sanction when UEFA banned them from the Champions League for two seasons in February 2020 over Financial Fair Play breaches. The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the ban in July that year, while reducing the club’s fine.
For now, the sanctions against City have yet to be determined, with the club expected to appeal the commission’s verdict.