Man City lodges 'comprehensive' appeal after being found guilty of financial rule-breaking

Manchester City has lodged a "comprehensive" appeal against a finding that the Premier League had "guilty" of all charges related to serious breaches of financial rules from 2009-18. The club is confident that their innocence is supported by a "body of irrefutable evidence" according to City's statement. The appeal was filed on Thursday after the Premier League published its verdict on Tuesday.

City alleges the commission's opinion contains "clear material errors" on "multiple grounds", including "law, principle and fact". The club has consistently denied the accusations throughout the ongoing case, which began in 2018. If the appeal is successful, City could avoid sanctions such as reprimands, fines, suspensions, points deductions or even expulsion from the Premier League.

The investigation found City inflated its revenue by over $1 billion from 2009-18 using "sham" commercial deals to circumvent financial fair-play rules. This allowed City to buy some of the best players in the world, contributing to their dominant period of success that included eight league titles from 2012-24.