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Sports26 September, 20263 min read

Manchester City Prepares Appeal Using Emails, Letters, Bank Statements, and Abu Dhabi Documents

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Independent panel found Manchester City guilty on 114 of 115 charges. Manchester City filed a formal appeal against the verdict before the deadline.

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Appeal, evidence, and hurdles

Manchester City is preparing for a new legal battle in its case over alleged financial violations after a newspaper report revealed that the club relies on what it describes as decisive evidence to overturn the ruling issued against it in the case. The Telegraph reported that the evidence Manchester City relies on consists of emails, letters, and bank statements, in addition to government documents from Abu Dhabi, receipts, and statements from 24 witnesses. Manchester City believes the documents were not properly evaluated during earlier hearings and its legal team intends to prove there were fundamental errors in the way the Independent Panel assessed the evidence presented by the Premier League.

BBC Sport reported that a leading lawyer told it City face "substantial hurdles" if they are to have any chance of winning their appeal after being found guilty of breaking the Premier League's financial rules. James Severn told BBC Sport that City will need to identify a material error of law, principle or fact, or serious procedural unfairness, which materially affected the Commission's decision.

Reporting for this sectionAl-Yawm as-Sābi‘BBC

What City says happened

Manchester City said it is "innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League" and it has "irrefutable evidence" the ruling contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe. Manchester City will argue the payments were made by the United Arab Emirates government as a shareholder of the sponsors, while there are inconsistencies in the Commission's judgement. BBC Sport said Etihad Airways had previously stated that the Abu Dhabi government had not paid for its sponsorship of Manchester City, with that coming in court documents as part of a US investigation in New York in 2015.

Severn told BBC Sport that the bank statements, government records and contemporaneous payment documents could be powerful evidence if they establish a clear audit trail showing the disputed funds came from the Abu Dhabi government rather than the owners. Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport that the commission found "the documents were retrofitted to fit the crime".

Reporting for this sectionBBCAl-Yawm as-Sābi‘

Possible outcomes and stakes

Manchester City’s appeal process is expected to result in full or partial acquittal, or to decide to retry the case, depending on the review of the evidence and the legal defenses. BBC Sport said the Appeal Board has broad powers to allow or dismiss the appeal, vary the decision or make any other order it considers appropriate, while Severn said it would be "impossible to assess reliably" the chances of City winning. The Telegraph said City’s legal team will attempt to demonstrate "fundamental errors" in tests applied by an independent commission to the Premier League’s case that commercial revenue was artificially inflated by £920m.

The Telegraph reported that an appeal hearing date has yet to be set while a panel is appointed to scrutinise the evidence, and it said the independent commission ruled that City inflated commercial revenues and reduced costs by £920m, largely thanks to its ownership topping up "sham" sponsorship deals by more than £830m. Sports Illustrated said the Independent Football Regulator can intervene if allegations are upheld, and it can compel the owners if it believes they're not fit [to run] the club, while it said the appeal is expected to conclude sometime in January 2027.

Reporting for this sectionThe TelegraphSports Illustrated