Manchester City's 115 charges: what is known and what it means for FPL

BBC Sport reported that sources had told it Manchester City were found guilty of breaking the majority of the 115 rules in the case. The report said The Athletic had put the figure at 114 of 115. It also said sanctions had not been decided, the Premier League declined to comment, and City did not confirm or deny the reported finding. Read the BBC Sport report.

Manchester City's quoted response was that the process remains ongoing, with significant elements still to be completed and the proceedings subject to strict confidentiality. Sky Sports separately reported that the process was moving towards an appeal stage. Read the Sky Sports explainer.

The careful wording matters. The reported finding is major news, but it is not the same as a published judgment. The commission's reasoning, the exact counts found proven, the sanction, and the timetable for any appeal are not yet in the public record.

The phrase "115 charges" is shorthand for the alleged breaches referred by the Premier League to an independent commission on 6 February 2023. The number comes from counting the alleged breaches across different rules and seasons. The Premier League's own announcement lists the rules and periods rather than placing a large "115" headline over the case. Read the Premier League's original statement.

The new figure of 114 does not mean the original case changed from 115 charges to 114. It means current reporting says all but one of the 115 alleged breaches were found proven. That remains a reported result until the official decision is published.

The allegations span several groups, not 115 copies of one accounting claim:

• Accurate financial information. For each season from 2009/10 to 2017/18, the league alleged failures to provide accurate financial information giving a true and fair view of the club's position. The statement specifically refers to revenue, including sponsorship revenue, related parties and operating costs.
• Manager remuneration. The league alleged that full details of manager payments were not included in the relevant contracts for seasons from 2009/10 to 2012/13.
• Player remuneration. The allegations include failures to include full details of player payments in the relevant contracts from 2010/11 to 2015/16.
• UEFA rules. City were alleged to have failed to comply with UEFA's club licensing and financial fair play rules over five seasons from 2013/14 to 2017/18.
• Premier League profitability rules. The case includes alleged breaches of the league's profitability and sustainability requirements for 2015/16 to 2017/18.
• Cooperation with the investigation. The league alleged failures to cooperate with and assist its investigation from December 2018 until February 2023, including the provision of documents and information in the utmost good faith.

These are the Premier League's allegations as set out in 2023. Manchester City have denied wrongdoing and said at the time that they welcomed an independent review of what the club described as a comprehensive body of evidence supporting its position.

1. December 2018: The period covered by the alleged cooperation breaches begins. The league's investigation followed reporting based on leaked club material.
2. 6 February 2023: The Premier League refers the alleged breaches to an independent commission.
3. 16 September 2024: The private hearing begins after a four-year investigation. BBC Sport reported that it was expected to last about 10 weeks. See the hearing report.
4. December 2024: Reporting says the hearing concludes. The commission then considers the evidence and submissions.
5. 25 September 2026: Multiple outlets report that the commission has reached a finding and that most, reportedly 114, of the alleged breaches were proven. No sanction is announced.

The next confirmed public milestone will be an official decision, a sanction, or both. The league's disciplinary rules give independent commissions broad powers. Depending on the breaches and circumstances, those powers can include a reprimand, a fine, a points deduction, suspension, expulsion, or another order the commission considers appropriate. The existence of those powers does not show which sanction will be selected. The current Premier League Handbook sets out the disciplinary framework.

Reports say Manchester City are expected to appeal an adverse decision. An appeal would be a further step inside the Premier League process. As of this article's publication, no appeal against the 115-charge ruling has been publicly confirmed as filed. It is therefore accurate to say an appeal is expected, not that the appeal has already been completed or decided.

Manchester City and the Premier League have also fought over Associated Party Transaction rules, usually shortened to APT rules. Those rules concern how certain commercial deals are assessed for fair market value. City brought legal challenges to those rules. That was a separate arbitration, not an appeal against the 115 charges.

On 8 September 2025, the Premier League announced that the parties had settled the later APT arbitration, terminated those proceedings, and agreed that the current APT rules were valid and binding. See the Premier League's APT statement. Saying that City challenged the APT rules is correct. Using that case as proof that City have already appealed the reported 115-charge finding is not.

The present impact is none. There is no announced change to Manchester City's league fixtures, player registrations, match results or FPL scoring. FPL points continue to come from what players do in scheduled matches. A legal report does not itself change goals, assists, clean sheets, bonus points or minutes played.

If the eventual sanction were only a league-table points deduction, it would reduce Manchester City's Premier League total. It would not retrospectively remove FPL points earned by individual players unless the game itself separately changed the scoring data. No such FPL change has been announced.

The most likely practical position is no FPL effect this season. That is an assessment, not a guaranteed legal outcome. The reasons are that a sanction has not been announced, the club is reported to be preparing an appeal, and the appeal process would have to run before the final position is settled. The Premier League has not published a timetable or promised that any sanction will be stayed during an appeal, so it would be wrong to say an in-season effect is impossible.

FPL managers do not need to sell or avoid City players because of the case today. The useful signals remain ordinary ones: fixtures, expected minutes, injury news, rotation, form and price. Reassess only if an official decision changes City's ability to play scheduled league matches or use registered players.

• The official count and reasoning in the commission's decision.
• Which individual allegations were found proven or not proven.
• The sanction, if any, and when it would take effect.
• Whether a formal appeal has been filed and the grounds of that appeal.
• Whether enforcement would pause while an appeal is heard.
• Whether the process will create any change relevant to the current FPL season.

Until those points are published, claims about a specific points deduction, relegation, stripped titles, transfer restrictions or a date for enforcement are possibilities or speculation, not established outcomes.