Premier League rivals press for retrospective penalties and future limits on Manchester City

On 6 October 2026, a number of Premier League clubs urged that Manchester City face both retrospective punishments and future sanctions after an independent commission found the club guilty of breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations covering the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons. Manchester City have appealed the commission's guilty verdict.

Sources said there is a consensus among a group of top-flight club executives that, should the appeal fail, any penalties must address the period in which City broke the rules and also restrict the club's scope going forward. At least four Premier League boardrooms regard a single "one-hit" points deduction that could result in relegation as an inadequate response. Views differ on exact measures: one senior club source argued City should be stripped of their titles, adding there was "no great rush" to redistribute trophies and preferring honours be left vacant; that source warned the credibility of the Premier League would be lost if City were allowed to keep the eight major trophies they won during the period they have been found guilty. However, BBC Sport was previously told there was little appetite among other clubs for City to be stripped of titles.

Club executives expressed concern that a sanction confined to one season would merely be a "bump in the road" for City. Several figures favour spreading any points deductions across multiple seasons and imposing transfer bans over a number of windows to limit the club's ability to return quickly to the top flight. One club source said it would be "bizarre, almost obtuse" if City were permitted to conduct transfers in the upcoming January window while the process remained ongoing and sanctions had not been applied.

Some clubs reported feeling "in the dark" about the Premier League's chronology and the timescales for the appeal and sanctions hearing, though sources added there was "empathy" and "understanding" for the difficult position the governing body faces given the gravity of the matter and the ongoing legal process. Conversations between clubs and the Premier League over appropriate penalties are said to involve nuance and differing views on proportionality.

A further proposal that has been mooted and which a club source said had "merit" is a "tariff-based system" whereby City's historical league finishing positions would be altered through points deductions and rival clubs would be compensated according to where they would have finished versus where they actually finished.

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca is expected to speak to players collectively after they return from international duty on Thursday. The trip to Anfield will be City's first match since the verdict, and Merseyside Police said it has received queries in relation to the fixture and will have "an appropriate policing operation in place on the day". Sources at Liverpool told BBC Sport it is "business as usual" and that no extra measures are being put in place; discussions between the club, supporters and relevant authorities take place before every home game, and one source said while everyone "has the right to express their feelings" they hoped supporters would not overstep the mark.

City will travel to face Liverpool on Sunday (16:30 BST), the first Premier League game following the commission's finding; the outcome of City's appeal will determine whether rival clubs' calls for retrospective reparations and future restrictions are implemented.