+34Manchester City have lodged a comprehensive appeal against the independent commission ruling that they breached Premier League financial rules, while the FA says it is monitoring the case and will take action where appropriate.
Manchester City have lodged a comprehensive appeal against the independent commission verdict that they breached Premier League financial rules, the club confirmed on Friday. The FA has also broken its silence, saying the decision has significant implications for the integrity of the game and that it will take action where appropriate.
Manchester City Appeals Premier League Verdict
The club said it lodged the appeal at 7pm on Thursday 1st October 2026. A statement on mancity.com read: Manchester City Football Club can confirm that, at 7pm on Thursday 1st October 2026, the club lodged its comprehensive appeal against the opinion of the Premier League commission, in relation to the Premier League disciplinary matter.
The club added that its firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe. City also insisted the club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and that a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions.
The appeal followed a 42-day hearing after which the independent commission concluded City had used a Disguised Funding Scheme and sham contracts to boost income by more than 900 million pounds between 2009 and 2018. The commission found more than 830 million pounds of owner funding was disguised as sponsorship revenue to inflate revenues and help the club comply with Premier League and UEFA financial rules.
The Premier League said City had lodged an appeal with the chair of the independent judicial panel established by the league. It added that the hearing would remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted. The appeal means the lengthy process still has some way to run.
Abu Dhabi Funding at Heart of Appeal
At the heart of Citys appeal will be an insistence that government funding, provided via the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court, gave financial assistance to sponsors in the emirate to help them fulfil their liabilities to City. City argue this support came from the CPC rather than Sheikh Mansours Abu Dhabi United Group, the company that owns the club. The 40-page core decision published on Tuesday shows the independent commission rejected the CPC explanation as untrue.
The commission said: We concluded that it was an explanation that the club had concocted well after the event in an attempt to obscure and conceal the realities of the disguised funding scheme. The FA said it is carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate.
It added that as proceedings between the Premier League and Manchester City remain ongoing, it does not intend to comment further at this stage, but will continue to monitor developments closely. The FA has powers to take action against individuals proved to have broken rules or acted dishonestly, which the commission concluded had been the case. The names of those involved were redacted in the 40-page core judgment, but the FA could ask the Premier League for an unredacted version.
The FAs standard practice is to wait for disciplinary proceedings conducted by leagues such as the Premier League or EFL to run their course before taking action. In July, the FA fined Chelsea 10 million pounds and imposed a suspended two-window transfer ban after the club admitted 74 breaches of its agent regulations. That came four months after the Premier League fined Chelsea 10.75 million pounds for the same offences, which related to unlawful payments to players and agents.
Burnham Faces Calls Over City Links
Separately, UK prime minister Andy Burnham is facing calls from the Liberal Democrats to publish details of all his meetings with Manchester Citys owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, and to declare all hospitality he has accepted at the Etihad Stadium. Burnham was widely criticised this week for saying he would be really concerned if ADUG were forced to sell City after the guilty verdict. The criticism led to Downing Street issuing two clarifications of his position on Thursday.
Burnham also praised ADUGs investment in Manchester, having had close relations with the company during nine years as mayor of Greater Manchester, which ended when he returned to parliament this summer. In a strongly worded letter to Burnham, the Lib Dems spokesperson for culture, media and sport, Anna Sabine, criticised his apparent defence of City as extraordinary.
She invoked Gianni Infantinos aborted World Cup sell-off scheme and wrote that an independent commission had found Manchester City guilty of 114 charges of breaching financial rules over nearly a decade. Sabine added that the findings included the use of sham contracts and schemes to disguise more than 830 million pounds of funding.
She wrote: Despite this, your response was to thank the clubs owners for their work and describe the findings as contested and that it was wrong to jump to a conclusion. She said it is extraordinary that a prime minister would use his position to call into question the findings of the independent investigation and risk undermining trust in the Premier Leagues processes.
Sabine also wrote that this has been a difficult year for footballs reputation and that Fifas conduct around the World Cup has already raised serious questions about integrity in the game. She said fans expect their prime minister to stand up for the rules in place, not to appear to side with those found to have broken them.
Please follow us on Google to support us
The42_ie 
IrishTimes:Manchester City verdict has big implications for game’s integrity, FA warns as club appealsThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Manchester City Financial Rules Appeal Premier League Sheikh Mansour Premier League Financial Rules FA Disciplinary Action Abu Dhabi United Group Andy Burnham
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Etihad Airlines Weighs Legal Action Against Premier League Over Manchester City FindingsEtihad Airlines, the primary sponsor of Manchester City, is considering legal proceedings against the Premier League after an independent commission ruled that the club committed over 100 financial rule breaches. The ruling found that City arranged sham contracts to inflate revenues by more than 900 million pounds between 2009 and 2018. Although Etihad was not named in the redacted findings, the airline stated it is deeply concerned by the public communication and damaging implications of the report. Manchester City, which faces potential points deductions or expulsion, has vowed to appeal the decision by Friday.
Read more »
Manchester City and Real Madrid Draw 1-1 in Women's Champions LeagueManchester City rescued a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid after referee Silvia Gasperotti disallowed a late winner for collision with Beth Mead. Linda Caicedo scored for Real Madrid before Khadija Shaw equalised for City. Barcelona remain the only team with six points after two rounds, while Paris Saint-Germain recorded a 4-1 victory over Leuven.
Read more »
Manchester City Found Guilty of €1 Billion Sham ContractsManchester City found guilty of inflating funds by over €1 billion through sham contracts between 2009 and 2018, breaching Premier League funding rules. The club denies wrongdoing.
Read more »
Manchester City appeal guilty verdict as FA considers actionManchester City have lodged a comprehensive appeal against the independent commission ruling that they breached Premier League financial rules, while the FA says it is monitoring the case and will take action where appropriate.
Read more »