Manchester City have confirmed that on Thursday night they submitted their appeal against the independent commission's verdict over their 114 breaches of Premier League rules.
City were found guilty of all but one of the charges levied against them over their actions between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, where they were found to have arranged "sham contracts" with commercial partners, to have made off-book payments to players and staff and to have failed to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation.
City have denied guilt and had until Friday to submit their appeal, which they have now done. They said in a statement: "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."
The appeal comes amid widespread reports that City intend to argue on appeal that the sponsorship deals for which they were sanctioned were funded by the Abu Dhabi government rather than by their owner Sheikh Mansour and ownership vehicle Abu Dhabi United Group. Such an explanation was presented to the initial commission, who concluded that it was an argument "concocted well after the event in an attempt to obscure and conceal the realities of the Disguised Funding Scheme."
Earlier on Friday, the English Football Association published a statement stating that City's guilty verdict has "significant implications for the integrity of the game", adding that they are "carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate".
