Purslow warns Man City case could 'spiral out of control' after guilty finding

Christian Purslow warned on Radio 4's Today programme on 26 September 2026 that Manchester City's legal fight with the Premier League could "spiral out of control" after the club was found guilty of the vast majority of 115 charges. The finding centres on allegations the club inflated sponsorship revenue and made other "off the books" payments to circumvent football's financial rules.

The news, broken by The Athletic, came 1,327 days after City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023 following a four-year investigation and 22 months after a hearing by an independent commission concluded. The charges cover the managerial tenures of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, and the first two years under Pep Guardiola, who left the club at the end of last season after 10 years in charge. City won eight trophies in the period covered by the case, including three Premier League titles, three EFL Cups, one Community Shield and one FA Cup. Manchester City declined to comment on whether they had been found guilty, instead providing a statement which read: "Premier League process remains ongoing with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. "The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence."

Sanctions on the club are yet to be announced and the Premier League has declined to comment. Possible repercussions outlined in reporting include a points deduction, expulsion from the Premier League or a huge fine. Premier League clubs are seeking legal advice about compensation relating to the charges.

Paul Gilroy KC described the case as a "seismic moment for world football" during the Today programme appearance. Christian Purslow said: "It's a sort of 'where does this end?' because if you look at every single season - the nine seasons which we now know Manchester City breached rules - then all of their 19 Premier League rivals in that season, to differing extents, suffered easy-to-compute loss. Whether it was a place in the Premier League - every place was worth £3m. "Teams that came fifth who didn't make the Champions League maybe lost tens of millions of pounds - and of course teams that were relegated. Let's say the team that finished 18th would've finished 17th if Manchester City weren't there. And they, of course, suffered huge loss. "If you add all those claims up, over nine years, and that's just in the Premier League, you can see that the potential here for this to spiral out of control is huge. "I really hope that common sense prevails here and that there is a comprehensive solution between the authorities and Manchester City that looks at all these issues and tries to draw a line in the sand. "Because a never-ending waterfall of legal claims and uncertainties for another four or five years would be absolutely appalling for the game."

Gilroy added that, so far, four clubs have put in protective claims "reserving the right to claim compensation if City are found guilty".

David Bernstein, who was Manchester City chairman from 1998-2003, told Times Radio he felt "absolutely awful" on hearing the news of City being found guilty and said: "To see all this tarnished in this way is very sad," adding: "I feel particularly bad for the wonderful supporters of the club who've stayed with the club through thick and thin. "This whole process has taken too long already. So the appeal process now has to be done quickly because you've got the club playing with this cloud over its head and it's just not viable. "The appeal process cannot go on for year after year, I think that would be a disaster, not just for this particular case but for English football generally. The timing is crucial." He continued: "I can't give a view on the punishment. If they are found, after the appeal, guilty of 115 charges, my beloved club is going to face a very severe penalty. "All I would say is that money is not sufficient, it would have to be something, unfortunately, more drastic than that."

Singer-songwriter Noel Gallagher, speaking on the Let Me Talk podcast, said he was "shocked" at the news and it was "quite sad" for players and fans, adding: "A little surprised when I heard it on the radio. Surprised because the club have assured us all along that they vehemently denied any of these charges," and: "So it was a bit of a shock to find out that we've been found guilty. But really overall just quite sad really. Sad for the fans and for the players."

BBC Sport has been told that City will appeal.