(Credit: Imago)

James Murray

Thu 2 April 2026 17:00, UK

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Manchester City could hear the long-awaited verdict in their 115 charges case before the summer.

That is according to former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the initial decision will only be on liability and a potential sanction hearing will follow at a later date.

Pep Guardiola’s side were dealt the charges by the Premier League in February 2023 for allegedly breaching the financial fair play (FFP) rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018.

An independent commission hearing started in September 2024 and ended in December that same year.

Man City have spent heavily on legal costs as they continue to wait for the panel’s verdict.

How Man City’s verdict will be delivered

It has been revealed Man City are facing expulsion from the Premier League due to the seriousness of the charges. 

However, Chelsea recently escaped without a sporting penalty for the financial breaches committed during the Roman Abramovich era, raising questions around whether a precedent has been set for Guardiola’s side. 

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed whether the 115 charges verdict could be delivered before the end of the season.

“It depends what that means really,” said Borson.

“The idea that there’s going to be a points deduction is unlikely because of everything we’ve spoken about before in terms of the process where you have two parts to it, one liability, one sanction, and sanction can’t come until you’ve established liability, i.e. whether they did it or not and what they did.

“It’s very unlikely that they would have spent let’s say a quarter of the hearing talking about sanction when there’s such a range of outcomes that were there, so the strong likelihood is that it was a split trial.

“That information has come via The Lawyer, which is very well connected, particularly with the barristers who may be involved with their clerks, their chambers, so I would think that is reliable. That means that the only decision that we’re waiting for right now is one on liability, whether they did it or not.” 

Why Man City could be facing further 115 charges delay

Borson revealed there will be a lengthy period between liability being established and a potential sanction hearing taking place.

“The bit that most people still don’t realise is once that comes in, that will be very long in itself and will need people to be given the time to digest it,” said Borson.

“But then it also means that the hearing that follows on sanction is going to take some time to accommodate. Clearly, the barristers who are involved are going to have to find time in their diaries. 

“The independent commission are going to have to find time in their diaries, and then there’s also the question of whether there’s going to be an appeal that sits before the sanction part.

“Overall, there’s a strong chance to be honest that we do get something on liability before the summer, but I don’t know what that means anymore.”