Manchester City found guilty of majority of 115 charges, BBC reports

Manchester City have been found guilty of the majority of the 115 financial charges brought against them by the Premier League, according to the BBC.

The BBC reported the verdict on 27 September. It is the first definitive outcome in a case that has hung over English football for more than three years. City have always denied the charges.

The timeline shows how long this has run. The hearing before an independent panel started almost two years ago, two years and 10 days before the BBC report. That hearing itself came 1,329 days after City were first charged.

The verdict was not announced in public. BBC Sport was told it was sent during the week to club executives, who had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to open the file. That secrecy explains why there was no immediate confirmation from either side.

City responded with a short statement. The club said the "process remains ongoing" from its point of view, with an appeal expected. The statement did not address whether the club had been found guilty.

The Premier League has stayed silent in public since the report emerged. The league first confirmed it had referred a number of alleged breaches of Premier League Rules by City in February 2023, according to the Premier League.

What happens next will take more time. The BBC reported that a separate sanction hearing, a hearing to decide any punishment, will be required because the charges were denied. That hearing could still be months away. The result may not be published until any appeal is completed.

Fines, points deductions and demotion will all be on the table at that hearing. A points deduction would take points off City's league total. Demotion would mean removal from the Premier League to a lower division.

Earlier reports on 25 September had put the scale of the defeat even higher. The Athletic reported City had been found guilty on almost all charges, while other reports cited by Reuters said it was all but one of the 115. The later BBC report uses the broader term, the majority.

For fans, this means waiting. There is a verdict but no punishment yet, and no final answer until the sanction process and any appeal run their course. Ninety minutes decide matches. This case is being decided in years.