The Football Association has raised serious concerns over the Manchester City financial verdict in London on Friday, October 2, 2026, saying the independent commission’s findings have significant implications for the integrity of English football while Manchester City prepares to appeal.
The FA said it was carefully examining the commission’s decision before determining whether further action would be appropriate.
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“The Independent Commission’s decision has significant implications for the integrity of the game,” the FA said in a statement.
“We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate.”
The statement came three days after the Premier League published the commission’s findings following its long-running case against Manchester City.
The commission found Manchester City guilty of serious financial-rule breaches covering the nine seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18.
The findings included allegations involving commercial agreements, financial reporting and the club’s compliance with spending regulations.
According to the Premier League, the commission found that Manchester City used what it described as “sham” commercial agreements with sponsors to artificially increase reported revenues and reduce recorded costs.
The commission concluded that the arrangements resulted in Manchester City artificially inflating revenues and reducing costs by more than £900 million during the period under consideration.
It also found that the club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators.
The findings also covered Manchester City’s alleged breaches of Premier League and UEFA spending limits, while three of four alleged breaches concerning the club’s co-operation with the Premier League investigation were upheld.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the decision established the facts of what happened during the period examined by the commission.
Manchester City, however, has rejected the findings and continues to maintain that it has not committed the wrongdoing alleged against it.
The club is expected to appeal the decision, with Reuters reporting that Manchester City has said it possesses what it considers “irrefutable evidence” supporting its position.
The appeal is expected to challenge aspects of the commission’s findings and the process used to reach them.
Manchester City’s chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has also maintained that the club’s position remains unchanged.
In a message to supporters, Al Mubarak said: “There remain many who want to undermine the momentum of our Club. We will not give them that opportunity.”
The dispute is therefore not yet at its final stage. Manchester City has the right to appeal, while the Premier League has yet to determine the sporting sanctions that could follow the commission’s findings.
The potential consequences extend beyond Manchester City itself.
Reuters reports that rival clubs and other stakeholders could pursue compensation claims, while the wider dispute has also prompted questions about possible tax implications and the effectiveness of football’s financial regulations.
The case has also attracted attention beyond English football. LaLiga president Javier Tebas has called for serious consequences if the findings stand, arguing that the case could establish an important precedent for financial regulation in European football.
Those comments remain his assessment rather than a determination of the appropriate punishment.
For the FA, however, the immediate concern is the broader effect on confidence in football’s regulatory system.
The governing body has not specified what action it might take and has stressed that proceedings between the Premier League and Manchester City remain ongoing.
“As proceedings between the Premier League and Manchester City Football Club remain ongoing, we do not intend to comment further at this stage,” the FA said. “We will, however, continue to monitor developments closely.”
The timing is significant for English football.
The Premier League’s financial regulations are intended to place limits on clubs’ spending and financial reporting, while the independent commission’s findings have now placed renewed scrutiny on how those rules are enforced.
Manchester City’s appeal will be the next major step in the process. Until that process is completed and any sanctions are determined, the commission’s findings remain subject to further legal scrutiny.
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The FA’s intervention nevertheless signals that the consequences of the case could reach well beyond a dispute between the Premier League and one of its most successful clubs, with football’s regulatory credibility now firmly at the centre of the debate.
