Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules by an independent commission. Sky Sports analyses what could happen next in the inquiry…

What is the appeals process?

Manchester City have confirmed they will appeal the ruling. They have until Friday October 2 to do so.

The appeal – which is permitted under section W of the Premier League rules.- would be heard by a new three-person commission.

Can sanctions be imposed while an appeal is under way?

There will be a separate hearing with the independent commission to determine sanctions. It is unclear when this hearing will take place but, reading between the lines, the Premier League wants this concluded this season.

The Premier League will put forward what they think the punishment should be and City will argue their case. The commission will then go away and decide what the punishment should be.

Would the appeal be the end of the matter?

The appeal would be the end of this part of the process.

City cannot appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). But they could go to the High Court and argue that the process has not been fair and impartial.

There could also be more legal cases, with clubs potentially taking action against City over missing out on trophies and Champions League qualification.

What are the potential punishments?

There are a range of sanctions available to the independent commission which include fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions – which could be applied this season.

The Premier League do not have set sanctions for financial rule breaches. Clubs decided not to have them because there were fears clubs would break the rules and just take the punishment if they knew what the punishment was going to be.

In February 2025, Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, said the league was looking at having a sanctions grid – setting out agreed sanctions for different rules breaches.

Everton were deducted six points on appeal during the 2023/24 season and then two points for profit and sustainability rules (PSR) breaches. Nottingham Forest were deducted four points in the same season.

In the 2008/09 season, Luton were deducted 30 points (10 points for illegal payments to agents and 20 points for exiting administration without a Company Voluntary Arrangement).

In 2021/22 season, Derby were deducted 21 points (12 points for entering administration and nine points for financial irregularities).

How could City be relegated?

Manchester City can only end up in the Championship if they are given a significant enough points penalty which means they go on to be relegated from the PL.

What happens if City are expelled from the Premier League?

Expulsion means they are no longer a Premier League (PL) club. It does NOT mean that they have been relegated.

City will then have to go to The Football Association and apply to rejoin the football pyramid further down.

Then the problem of re-integration lies with The FA and English Football League.

The FA will have a huge part to play in deciding where City play their football next, in this scenario. Where that might be is unknown, and very complicated and political.

Will the Premier League decide to negate all City’s results for this season because it has happened mid-season? It’s something they will have to decide upon.

How would they enter the EFL?

Written into the EFL laws: any new member who joins EFL, has to join at League Two.

The EFL, like the Premier League, is a collective of its member clubs, and so any decision to re-enter Man City at a certain level (any level from the Championship or below) would have to be ratified by a vote of the member clubs.

If it went to a vote, it would be passed or rejected on a simple majority, a vote that involves all 72 EFL clubs.

That was the system for when the Championship play-offs were expanded from 4-6 teams last season – it required a majority of the 72 AND a specific majority of the Championship clubs.

Will clubs in any division be keen for a club of Man City’s power to join their league?

What would happen to the Premier League’s missing place?

It certainly causes problems in terms of numbers in each competition – leaving only 19 clubs in the Premier League. This will almost certainly mean that only two clubs are relegated from the top division that season.

What have Man City said?

City released a statement stating they are “disappointed and surprised” after the club were found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules.

“Manchester City is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League commission that has been published today.

“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.

“The club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.”

Manchester City’s statement refers to a Premier League commission. For clarity, this was an independent commission.

Matt Fitzpatrick believes he is currently playing the best golf of his career, ahead of the world No 4 teeing it up alongside his father at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Fitzpatrick registered a fourth worldwide win of the season with a three-shot victory at the FedEx Open de France on Sunday, having already won three times on the PGA Tour during an impressive campaign.

The Englishman failed to finish higher than 14th in any of the majors in 2026 but still had six worldwide top 10s along with his victories, with Fitzpatrick proud of his season and contending so frequently.

“This is the best period of golf I’ve played for sure,” Fitzpatrick told the Sky Sports Golf podcast. “2022 was right up there, but I’ve had three wins and obviously a fourth now. I think just the sustained consistency has been the big thing really.

“Obviously that [a disappointing major season] is a disappointment. It’s the goal of anyone’s at the start of the year to contend in the majors – those are what mean the most and those are what matter.

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“It’s disappointing not to do that this year. Just felt a couple days off pretty much during three of the four, then in the last one I just didn’t play great and I got my strategy wrong.

“At the same time, that doesn’t really take anything away from the season as a whole. I have contended a lot in a lot of golf tournaments and that’s all you could ask for in a year.”

Fitzpatrick’s latest victory moved him top of the Ryder Cup qualification standings and inside the top 10 in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings, while the 32-year-old could move to a career-high world No 2 with a strong showing in Scotland.

When asked on whether there are areas where he can still improve, Fitzpatrick added: “I think there’s various bits and pieces that we’ve looked at. We’re coming to the year end and making those decisions on what the off-season plan needs to be.

“There’s a few things that we’ve got down already to go to – it’s just about how you go about that and how that’s structured.”

Fitzpatrick previously won the 2023 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with his mother Sue as his partner in the pro-am team event, with Fitzpatrick teaming up with dad Russell for this year’s contest.

“I think he might get a few more strokes – he’d probably say that himself!” admitted Fitzpatrick, who also won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside his brother Alex Fitzpatrick in April.

“We’re going to need a big few days I think, to get us in some form of position. Hopefully, Johan [Rupert, tournament organiser] doesn’t cut his handicap too much after this past week!

“I think he’s been playing quite nicely, so you never know – when the pressure’s on, it can be a little bit different, but we’re there to have a good time and enjoy ourselves.”

Listen to the full Matt Fitzpatrick interview on the latest edition of the Sky Sports Golf podcast, hosted every week by Jamie Weir. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Spreaker, while vodcast editions can be found on the Sky Sports Golf YouTube channel.

Who else is playing the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship?

Matt’s brother Alex is partnering mum Sue in the team element of this year’s event, played across Carnoustie, Kingsbarns Golf Links and the Old Course at St Andrews.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre returns as defending champion, while Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose are other Ryder Cup players in the field, with Brooks Koepka and Cam Smith among the past major winners also in action.

Who will win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship? Live coverage begins Thursday from midday on Sky Sports Golf. Get latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract on NOW.