(Credit: Imago)

James Murray

Mon 2 March 2026 11:25, UK

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Manchester City are expected to face another hearing if they are found guilty in their 115 charges case.

That is according to former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the panel’s initial verdict is believed to be purely around liability.

That was previously reported by The Lawyer, which said any submissions over sanctions will take place following a finding on liability.

An independent commission hearing started in September 2024 and ended in December that same year, with the panel still considering its verdict.

How long Man City could wait for potential sanction hearing to take place

Man City 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.

Pep Guardiola’s side are alleged to have concealed payments through third parties by disguising them as sponsorship revenue.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed the potential punishment if Man City are found guilty.

“Well, nobody knows what the sanction would be because nobody knows what the decision is on liability first,” said Borson.

“I mean, we’ve got to establish whether City have done it or not. Remember, the process appears to be from the leaks that we’ve had from publications like The Lawyer, who are an industry magazine, they say that their information is that this is a two-part hearing.

“So, the question of sanction, we’re not even close to that because there’ll be a separate hearing in relation to sanction. It won’t happen for months and then when it does happen, we’ll then be waiting for months for the decision.

“This isn’t a case of when the decision drops we’re going to find out what the penalty is as well. It’s just not going to work that way.”

• Read More: Keith Wyness shares what he’s heard about Man City’s 115 charges verdict

Could Man City face 60-point deduction?

Speaking on The Overlap last week, finance expert Kieran Maguire suggested Man City could be deducted somewhere between 40 to 60 points if they are found guilty.

However, Borson doesn’t quite agree with that assessment.

“In terms of what the penalty might be, nobody knows because let’s say City are found liable for these charges, it really will be a case of it being unprecedented,” said Borson.

“It’s all very well saying, ‘Well, let’s look at the situation with Everton and with Nottingham Forest and extrapolate 10 years of let’s say breaches of a similar nature’.

“You might just take the six points and times it by 10, which I think is what people have done, but it really won’t work that way. There won’t be any precedent for it. And in any event, these are not conventional PSR breaches of that nature.”

Everton were previously docked a total of eight points after being charged with two separate PSR breaches, while Nottingham Forest landed a four-point deduction.