'This is chilling': Gary Neville says removing Man City's owners is the 'only fair' punishment after guilty verdict

From the Newshound archive · first published 1 October 2026 · last updated 2 October 2026.

Manchester City have been convicted on every charge of serious Premier League financial rule violations by an independent commission, which determined the club used 'sham' contracts and 'disguised schemes' to artificially boost revenue by £830million over eight seasons. Gary Neville has described the scale of the misconduct as 'industrial-level financial doping' and warned the ruling carries chilling implications for English football. City plan to challenge the verdict and have until Friday 2 October to lodge an appeal.

The commission found that City inflated club revenue by £830million across the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons through fabricated contracts.

Potential punishments span heavy fines and points deductions at one end, through to expulsion from the Premier League and the removal of titles already won at the other.

Neville contends that ousting the current owners is the only penalty that would genuinely match the offence, saying: 'I'm not celebrating — I'm chilled.'