A statement issued by Manchester City has confirmed the club's 'comprehensive' appeal against the Premier League's 'opinion' and verdict issued earlier this week.
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Manchester City Confirm Appeal Against Premier League
Now, in a statement issued on the club's official website, City have confirmed their 'comprehensive' appeal against the Premier League's 'opinion' and the commission of the English top-flight.
The statement reads: "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’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.
"The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case.
"We will continue to respect due process and are necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete."
Manchester City's leading club sponsor Etihad Airways have released a statement confirming their consideration of legal action against the Premier League in light of the guilty verdict placed on the North-West giants.cityxtra.co.ukEtihad Airways Consider Legal Action Against Premier League After Man City Verdict
Manchester City's leading club sponsor Etihad Airways have released a statement confirming their consideration of legal action against the Premier League in light of the guilty verdict placed on the North-West giants.
What Did the Independent Commission Find?
The independent commission's verdict, published on September 29, found Manchester City guilty on 114 of the alleged 115 Premier League financial rule breaches, covering conduct across nine seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18.
The commission concluded that City arranged commercial sponsorship contracts under which a number of the club's partners paid only a fraction of the agreed fees, with the remainder funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd - the private company owned by Sheikh Mansour that controls the club.
Operating costs were also found to have been artificially reduced through circular arrangements involving player image rights.
The cumulative financial effect of the schemes was assessed at more than £900 million in artificially inflated revenues and reduced costs across the period, with the commission finding that misstated accounts had been concealed from auditors and regulators.
The club was additionally found guilty on the majority of charges relating to a failure to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the case as "the most significant in Premier League history" and stated that the core decision "details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade."
The verdict is the culmination of a process that began with the referral of Manchester City to an independent commission in February 2023, following an investigation that drew on documents obtained through the Football Leaks disclosures.
Hearings took place across a three-month period from September to December 2024, with the commission deliberating for the better part of two years before publishing its opinion.
What is Man City's Appeal Argument?
As reported by Mike Keegan of Mail Sport, Manchester City intend to argue during the appeal that the funding behind the sponsorship deals in question originated from the Abu Dhabi government as a sovereign body rather than from Abu Dhabi United Group as a private company owned by Sheikh Mansour.
The legal distinction is central to the club's case because Premier League financial rules govern arrangements between a club and its owners; if the funding came from a separate state entity, City's position is that no rules were broken under the framework the commission applied.
The appeal will be heard by an independent panel separate from the commission that issued the original verdict. Manchester City successfully challenged a two-year UEFA ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in July 2020, a precedent the club has consistently cited since the guilty verdict emerged.
That ruling overturned the UEFA sanction partly on grounds that some charges were time-barred and that the required standard of proof had not been met.
The Premier League's appeals framework operates under different procedural rules to CAS, and the grounds available to City will be determined by the specific regulations governing the independent commission process.
The sanctions phase - which will determine any sporting or financial punishment - has not yet commenced and constitutes a separate stage of proceedings that will follow the conclusion of the appeal process.
Sources familiar with the case have indicated that full resolution, including all available appeal routes, may not arrive until 2028 or 2029.
A number of Premier League clubs, among them Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United, are also reported to be preparing compensation claims linked to the period covered by the charges, with the combined value of those potential actions reported to be in the region of £800 million.
How Have the Premier League Responded to Man City's Appeal?
A Premier League statement in response to Manchester City's official appeal submission read: "Manchester City FC has appealed the decision of an independent Commission regarding breaches of Premier League rules.
"The club lodged the appeal to the Chair of the Judicial Panel. The independent Appeal Board hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted."
Manchester City and Enzo Maresca return to Premier League duties against Liverpool at Anfield on October 11, three days before a home UEFA Champions League group-phase clash against holders Paris Saint-Germain.