Manchester City’s appeal against findings that the club breached Premier League financial rules is expected to be heard by the middle or end of January 2027, according to the Independent Football Regulator chair, David Kogan.
The case concerns alleged financial-rule breaches between 2009 and 2018, with an independent commission finding City guilty of the majority of the 115 charges brought against them. The club has consistently denied wrongdoing and is challenging the findings. No sanction has been announced.
Kogan said the appeal was expected to follow a prescribed 12-week process, although he stressed that the proceedings were being handled by the Premier League’s independent commission rather than his own regulatory body.
“The Premier League have said that they want to get this resolved within the season,” he told Times Radio on Wednesday. “People are assuming this will actually be heard by the middle or the end of January.”
Potential penalties, should the findings be upheld, could include a points deduction or relegation. There has also been speculation about whether City could lose titles won during the period under investigation, but no such punishment has been confirmed.
The case continues to cast a shadow over a club whose performances on the pitch have remained strong. City sit top of the Premier League after winning their opening six matches, including a 3-0 victory over Liverpool last weekend. Manager Enzo Maresca has expressed confidence that the club will win its appeal.
The proceedings have also renewed scrutiny of the relationship between football regulation and politics. Kogan said he would resign if political interference compromised future investigations by the Independent Football Regulator, following controversy over comments by Andy Burnham about the possibility of City’s Abu Dhabi owners leaving the club.
Kogan insisted that the regulator had operated independently since its creation a year ago.
“We cannot, when regulating football, be subject to political interference on decisions we make about owners, directors or anything else,” he said.
The regulator’s responsibilities remain separate from City’s Premier League appeal. The outcome of the case, and any eventual punishment, remain unresolved.
