Man City incredibly claim guilty verdict is ‘unsafe’ as appeal confirmed

Manchester City have announced they have started their appeal after being found guilty of breaking the vast majority of Financial Fair Play (FFP) charges made against them by the Premier League, remarkably calling the independent panel’s findings ‘unsafe’.

Man City have been found guilty of breaking 114 out of 115 charges, with the independent commission writing in their verdict that the club utilised ‘sham’ contracts to save a whopping £900million between 2009 and 2018. City significantly inflated sponsorship revenue to hide the fact their owners injected huge sums of money into the club, against FFP rules.

Plus, the Cityzens have been found guilty of failing to co-operate with the Premier League’s four-year investigation, which could also herald serious punishment.

There have been calls for City to be stripped of the titles they won between 2009 and 2018. Other potential sanctions include a fine, transfer ban, points deduction or even relegation from the Premier League.

We exclusively revealed earlier this week, in conversation with a top sports lawyer, that City plan to take their case all the way the High Court in a bid to clear their name.

And with City widely expected to lodge an appeal soon after the verdict dropped, it has now been confirmed that the process has begun.

In another bombshell statement, the club wrote: ‘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.’

City CEO Ferran Soriano recently said in a video message to the club’s staff: “This has gone for so long that it is important to remind ourselves that the whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation – that the owners’ personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi. This is just not true.

“Irrefutable evidence has been provided to the Premier League commission that shows that it could not happen and that it did not happen. This includes bank statements, money transfers, witnesses and everything necessary to categorically demonstrate that the money did not come from the owner. Every other false charge that has been thrown at us – and aggressively marketed and promoted – comes from the simple, central, and completely false accusation.

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Guilty verdict a ‘conspiracy theory’ – Man City CEO

“Surprisingly for us, and for our lawyers, after nearly two years the Premier League Commission has introduced an opinion that supports the Premier League’s conspiracy theory. To do so, the opinion had to ignore the extensive evidence provided by the club in order to reach a conclusion that is clearly wrong.”

Soriano continued: “Remember we have been here before. In 2020 we were also wrongly ruled against for many of the same issues. We appealed to an independent body in CAS and we won.

“We will now be relentless in our work. We will focus on the independent appeal process and also all other legal avenues available to us in order to win the case, and we will take all necessary action to protect the club and seek compensation from any party that tries to damage it now, and in the future.”

A leading sports lawyer has exclusively told us that Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s comments on the City case could complicate matters.

The favourites to sign City superstar Erling Haaland – in the event of relegation – have also been named.