FA says Man City verdict has ‘significant implications for integrity of the game’

The Football Association says it is “carefully considering” the implications of the findings into Manchester City.

An independent commission found City guilty on all charges related to breaching Premier League financial rules in a damning report released earlier this week.

City are expected to lodge their appeal against the verdict before the deadline later on Friday.

A statement on thefa.com read: “The independent commission’s decision has significant implications for the integrity of the game.

“We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate.

“As proceedings between the Premier League and Manchester City Football Club remain ongoing, we do not intend to comment further at this stage. We will, however, continue to monitor developments closely.”

The Press Association understands City intend to present evidence to an appeal board that they say refutes the key finding of the original commission that owner funding was being disguised as sponsorship revenue.

The commission concluded more than £830million of such funding was used to inflate revenues and enable the club to comply with Premier League and UEFA financial rules through a series of “sham” arrangements.

At the heart of the club’s appeal will be an insistence that government funding, provided via the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court (CPC), gave financial assistance to sponsors in the emirate to help them to fulfil their liabilities to City, rather than Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) company, which owns the club.

The 40-page core decision published on Tuesday shows the independent commission rejected the CPC explanation as “untrue” in its findings, adding: “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.”

Published: 02/10/2026 by Radio NewsHub