Manchester City have been found guilty of all 115 financial rule charges brought against them, and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has warned the club could be removed from the Premier League.
The independent commission's verdict means the club faces potentially severe sanctions, including expulsion from the league. Nandy stressed that City is entitled to a fair appeal process but acknowledged the gravity of the situation.
Guilty on all charges
The Premier League said City had committed widespread financial rule violations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, involving what it described as 'sham' commercial arrangements allegedly used to conceal the source of funding. The club were charged back in February 2023.
Manchester City and the Premier League have released statements confirming the club have been guilty of all 115 charges "related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period".
Nandy warns of serious sanctions
Speaking to Channel 5 News, Nandy said she did not want to prejudge any appeal, stressing that City was entitled to a fair process. However, she acknowledged the seriousness of the potential consequences.
"I don't want to preempt any kind of appeal process, and they are entitled to a fair hearing. But what I would say is that the ultimate sanction is very serious indeed," she said.
"I mean, a club can be expelled from the Premier League if these sorts of allegations are upheld, with obviously huge repercussions for everybody. So there are very serious sanctions, and I think the bigger issue is how do we make sure that we have clearly understood rules that are upheld and applied consistently, and that we can move quickly when they're breached."
"The Premier League is one of our greatest exports. It brings joy to millions of people, and we want to make sure that we protect it for the fans for the future."
Former chairman calls for board suspensions
Former City chairman David Bernstein described the commission's conclusions as "damning beyond belief" and argued that any punishment should extend beyond financial penalties. Bernstein, who held the chairmanship for five years before leaving the position in 2003, questioned whether members of the club's board should remain in their roles and said they should "be suspended immediately".
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: "It is damning beyond belief. My immediate thoughts are, should the board continue? Should the people involved be suspended immediately?"
"Very, very serious. I think it's really terrible. There's a school of thought with lawyers that is 'deny, deny, deny', but this is a football club that is part of a league and the whole credibility of the league is at stake here."
"I would go as far [as to say it is a deep-seated form of fraud] and if it is, I'm not a lawyer but as a thought this is something so serious that it goes beyond the football authorities."
"The sanctions cannot just be financial, so it's got to be way beyond that. If the appeal fails, Manchester City cannot stay in the league, they have to suffer. And I say that as a supporter and a fan."
City intends to appeal
City has said it intends to appeal the commission's ruling, arguing that the decision "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe".
