Manchester City's financial charges case against the Premier League continues, with conflicting reports emerging about when a judgment might be delivered. Multiple reports indicate some suggestions point to the Easter period or summer for a resolution, but there has been no official confirmation of a potential timeframe. A range of sanctions have been discussed for Manchester City, with the most recent proposal being a 60-point deduction. The club was accused of 115 breaches of financial regulations, though the actual number is understood to be nearer to 130. All those in football are still awaiting the final determination to be announced in Manchester City's case, according to multiple reports.
Manchester City strongly denies all allegations and remains optimistic about the outcome. The club maintains its innocence, asserting it possesses a 'comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence' to support its position. In mid-March, The Athletic reported that unnamed sources from both parties involved in Manchester City's proceedings have not received any updates from the independent panel regarding the schedule.
The Premier League’s protracted handling of the financial charges against Manchester City has been branded 'damaging' by LaLiga president Javier Tebas.
A 12-week hearing between Manchester City representatives and the Premier League took place nearly 18 months ago, according to multiple reports. An independent commission heard Manchester City's case between September and December 2024. Chelsea's matter concerning illegal payments has diverted attention from Manchester City over recent weeks. Chelsea were penalised £10.75 million after co-operating with proceedings, but it still required three years for a verdict to materialise under their new ownership structure that collaborated with the league to reach a resolution.
West Brom could be given a points deduction that relegates them from the Championship after the season has finished as the club contests charges of breaching the English Football League’s profit and sustainability rules. The EFL is running out of time to hear the charges against West Brom, which relate to an alleged breach of the £39m loss limit in the three-year period culminating in the 2024-25 season. West Brom are in the middle of a Championship relegation battle, with James Morrison’s side two points clear of third-bottom Oxford United with four games remaining. Even a small points deduction could send West Brom down to League One, according to multiple reports.
Javier Tebas criticised the ongoing lack of resolution in Manchester City's case that has dragged on for over three years.
Uncertainty surrounds the timing for West Brom's potential sanctions due to ambiguous season end definitions. The Championship league season concludes on 2 May, but the rulebook does not give a definitive cutoff point so it is unclear when the season ends. There are alternative interpretations of when the season finishes, such as the Championship playoff final on 23 May or the publication of next season’s fixtures on 25 June. The latter date has a significant historical precedent which could give the EFL leeway to conclude the case, according to multiple reports.
Historical precedent from Derby's case offers implications for West Brom's situation. In 2021 Derby were fined £100,000 by an independent commission for financial irregularities the night before the following season’s fixtures were published on 24 June. The EFL reserved the right to appeal and push for a points deduction in Derby's case. Derby’s position that season was similar to West Brom’s current plight, with Wayne Rooney’s side avoiding relegation to League One by a single point at the end of the 46-match league campaign. The EFL took the extraordinary step of arranging what it described as an 'interchangeable fixture list' for Derby and Wycombe, who had been relegated to League One, while it considered whether to appeal.
Speaking at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London, Tebas argued that the issue was not merely the delay, but the 'uncertainty' it had created regarding the application of rules.
West Brom are determined to fight the charges and insist they have complied with P&S rules despite recorded combined losses of £55.6m since 2022. West Brom's £55.6m losses figure does not include the deductions that are permitted for spending on infrastructure and community projects, according to multiple reports. West Brom’s dispute with the EFL is understood to centre on its financial accounting methods and interpretation of allowable expenses. Any sporting sanction imposed by an independent commission following the end of the league campaign would almost certainly lead to an appeal from West Brom and have significant legal ramifications, according to multiple reports.
Leicester City have lost their appeal against a six point deduction, according to multiple reports. The six point deduction puts Leicester in severe danger of being relegated to the third tier for just the second time in their 142 year history. Leicester are now facing a second successive relegation after they finished 18th in last season’s top flight. This week, Leicester's appeal decision was upheld by an independent appeal board, confirming the penalty that could determine their Championship fate.
Tebas highlighted a perceived double standard: '(Other clubs are) being fined, having points deducted, and that’s fine if you don’t abide by the rules. But Manchester City has impunity.'
Leicester were initially charged in May 2025 by the Premier League for breaching profit and sustainability rules relating to the 2023/24 season. In February, an Independent Commission handed Leicester a six-point deduction in the Championship, which saw them drop to 20th in the league. Leicester said they were disappointed with what they called a 'disproportionate' punishment, and appealed the decision. With the matter now at an end and five games of the season remaining, everyone at Leicester is fully focused on the matches in front of us and on shaping the outcome of our season through our results on the pitch, according to the club's statement.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has criticized the Premier League's handling of Manchester City's 115 charges. Tebas was forthright in his criticism of the Premier League's prolonged handling of the City case, particularly given that Everton and Nottingham Forest received swift judgements and were handed points deductions. Tebas also took aim at the Premier League's financial regulations and spending guidelines at the FT Live's Business of Football Summit.
Tebas stated, 'I speak to a lot of Premier League clubs, and the majority don’t understand this either. That makes the institution weaker.'
Top-flight clubs voted to replace the existing Profitability and Sustainability Rule with a new Squad Cost Ratios framework from next season. Under the new system, clubs will be permitted to allocate up to 85 per cent of their seasonal revenues on wages and transfers, with the allowance stretching to 115 per cent, provided they balance their books within a three-year period. Tebas warned the new financial rules will cause transfer market inflation, arguing that such regulations could undermine financial fair play principles if not properly implemented.
Key questions remain unresolved about both the Manchester City and West Brom cases. The exact timing for Manchester City's final judgment announcement remains uncertain, as does what specific sanctions the club might face if found guilty of the charges. For West Brom, it is unclear whether they will receive a points deduction this season and what the exact penalty might be if imposed. How the EFL will determine the cutoff point for applying sanctions to West Brom given the ambiguous end of the season definition also remains undecided.
Tebas emphasised the need for legal certainty in financial fair play regulations.
Tebas stressed the importance of upholding rules despite pressure: 'You just can’t give in, because the value of legal certainty is more important. We can’t be arbitrary, we have to be firm.'
Tebas branded it a 'failure' that Manchester City's hearing remains unresolved more than three years after the club was charged with 115 alleged breaches.
Tebas remarked: 'It's a failure of Premier League governance. Other clubs are looking at and watching this and seeing what's going on. They are being fined and having points deductions and that's fine, if you don't abide by the rules. But City appear to have impunity. I speak to a lot of English clubs and the majority of them don't understand this either. It makes the institution of the Premier League weaker.'
Tebas went on to say: 'In Spain we have special and strict rules on Financial Fair Play. FFP is what everyone has to apply at home. You can't spend more than our revenues. But then new regulations here will cause more inflation and more problems. If you allow clubs to spend 85 per cent of revenues but aren't taking into account expenses, no fair play rules are of any use at all.'