📅 October 2, 2026

Man City Have Lodged Their Appeal: What It Means for Manchester United

By Mav Jones · Manchester United fan writer

Manchester City have appealed. The club says it lodged the appeal at 7pm on Thursday 1 October, a day inside the deadline, and the Premier League confirmed it on Friday. So the verdict that City disguised owner money as sponsorship for nine seasons isn’t final yet, and neither is anything that hangs off it, including United’s compensation claim.

What City said

City’s statement is four sentences long. It confirms the club “lodged its comprehensive appeal against the opinion of the Premier League Commission,” and goes on: “The Club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.”

It repeats the line from Tuesday that City are “innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League” and that “a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists.” Then it stops: “We will continue to respect due process and are necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete.”

Notice the wording. City call a published decision an “opinion,” and call the body that wrote it the “Premier League Commission.” Sky Sports pointed out that’s wrong. It’s an independent commission, picked from a judicial panel whose chair is independent of the league, under rules City signed up to as a member.

What the Premier League said

The league’s statement is even shorter. City “lodged the appeal to the Chair of the Judicial Panel,” and “the independent Appeal Board hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted.”

The notes underneath explain the mechanics. The chair of the judicial panel appoints an Appeal Board of three, and one of them must have held judicial office. That board can allow the appeal, dismiss it, or make any other order it thinks fit, including varying what the commission decided. So it isn’t a simple yes or no.

How long this takes

On paper, not long. Under Premier League rules an appeal hearing should be held within 12 weeks of the appeal being lodged, it can’t run beyond five days in one block, and the decision is due within 30 days of the hearing ending. Reuters, the Associated Press and Sky all report the same timetable.

Sky’s Kaveh Solhekol did the sums: a hearing by “the week before Christmas,” and a judgment by “the third week of January.”

That’s if the timetable holds. Solhekol says the faster process was only written into the rules this season, and City could argue it shouldn’t apply to a case that began years ago. Sports lawyer Tom Keane of Brandsmiths told Reuters it “clearly could drag on beyond the end of the season,” and added: “From the outside, it appears that the approach taken to this case by City has been to create delay.”

We don’t know which it’ll be. Nobody outside the process does.

What City are expected to argue

Sky Sports News reports City are likely to argue that the extra money behind their Abu Dhabi sponsorships came from the Abu Dhabi government, not from the club’s owner. The Associated Press reports the same.

They’ve tried it once. City’s lawyers made that case at the 2024 hearing, and the commission rejected it as an explanation “concocted well after the event.” Sky’s reporter called it a possible “long shot” second time round. If you want the detail of what the commission found, our read of the published decision has it: income overstated by more than £830 million between 2009/10 and 2017/18.

Still no punishment

The sanction is a separate hearing in front of the original commission, and it hasn’t happened. The AP reports there’s been no word on whether a sanction can be imposed before the appeal is decided. Keane’s view is that the appeal should come first.

In the meantime, Reuters notes City are top of the league with five wins from five. That’s the uncomfortable part for everyone else. The season carries on as though nothing’s been decided, because formally nothing final has.

The Football Association spoke for the first time on Friday. Its statement, carried by the AP: “The independent commission’s decision has significant implications for the integrity of the game. We are carefully considering the decision and its implications and will take action where appropriate.”

Where United come in

United’s interest is the same as it was a week ago. The seasons covered by the decision include City’s titles in 2012 and 2018, and United finished second in both. United were one of four clubs, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham, to serve notice in November 2024 that they may claim compensation. We explained how those claims work when the verdict first leaked.

Those claims wait on the appeal. If the fast timetable holds, United could know by late January whether the findings stand. If City get it slowed down, the claims slow down with it. Reuters reports rival clubs are exploring claims over lost prize money and Champions League income, and Keane thinks that’s where it gets hard: “Dealing with the City case is almost now the easy part.”

One last detail for United fans. Reuters reports a giant billboard reading “Welcome to Shamchester” went up near Old Trafford this week. If that sounds familiar, it’s because City put up “Welcome to Manchester” with Carlos Tevez on it in 2009, a story told in our derby history. Seventeen years on, the joke runs the other way.

United are back at Old Trafford against Tottenham on 10 October. City’s appeal will still be running long after that.

Sources: Manchester City’s club statement “Manchester City lodge appeal” (mancity.com, 2 October 2026), quoted verbatim, including the 7pm Thursday 1 October filing time. The Premier League statement “Manchester City FC appeal decision of independent Commission” (2 October 2026) and its notes on Appeal Boards. Sky Sports (2 October 2026): the timing of City’s statement, the point about the commission’s independence, Kaveh Solhekol’s timeline and Sky Sports News’ reporting of City’s likely argument. Reuters, via the Cyprus Mail (1 October 2026): the 12-week and 30-day rules, Tom Keane’s comments, City’s five wins from five, rival clubs exploring claims and the billboard. The Associated Press, via NBC News (2 October 2026): the appeal timetable, the “concocted well after the event” finding, the sanction hearing and the Football Association’s statement. The £830 million figure is from the commission’s redacted core decision, published 29 September 2026. The titles, United’s second-place finishes and the November 2024 compensation notices are from our reporting of 26 September 2026, linked above. One discrepancy: the AP says the chair of the original commission appoints the Appeal Board; the Premier League’s own notes say it is the chair of the judicial panel, and we have used the league’s version. No sanction has been decided and none is suggested here.