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← Match programme № 17 · September 28, 2026

FOOTBALL

No City decision published in 1,330 days

You read that City were found guilty. Three days later, and 1,330 days after the charge, there is still nothing to read.

The primer

On 25 September, reports said a panel had found against Manchester City. We checked the League's website but found no decision. You will see why this clock has no owner.

PublishedSeptember 28, 2026
Reading time4 min
Sources13 cited
VoiceCONVERSATIONAL EXPLAINER
The dekThe League's own rule promises a published award. Still nothing, abhi tak.
— 01
THE HISAAB

Two of these four numbers are zero

As of 28 September 2026 the League's site shows no published decision and no punishment.
1,330
Days since the charge
Charged 6 February 2023. Three and a half years.
0
Decisions published
The League's rule promises one.
0
Punishments imposed
No points off, no fine.
63
Days to Forest's first decision
Referral to four points off.

As of 28 September 2026 the League's site shows no published decision and no punishment.

In plain terms The headline numbers from the story, each with its unit and a one-line note. Source · Premier League charge statement, site check · 28 September 2026

— 02
WHAT YOU THINK HAPPENED

Guilty and punished are two different stages

No decision has been published and no punishment exists.

What you think

You read that a panel found against City, so the punishment comes next.

What the record shows

0published decisions

Finding and punishing are separate stages here. The League's website carries no decision and no punishment.

No decision has been published and no punishment exists.

In plain terms Two panels: on the left what most people assume, on the right what the numbers show, with the one figure that settles it. Source · Reported finding, checked against premierleague.com, where none is published · 28 September 2026

— 03
WHAT THE CALENDAR SAYS

The league kept playing while the case ran

So the reported finding sits there with nothing attached. Meanwhile three other clubs had their cases dealt with while City's first stage stayed open.

May 2018
City finish on 100 points
Nineteen clear of second, inside the charge window.
6 Feb 2023
Manchester City charged
Five categories of alleged breach, across fourteen seasons.
17 Nov 2023
Everton lose 10 points
£124.5m loss against a £105m limit.
18 Mar 2024
Forest lose 4 points
Sixty-three days after referral.
Charged after City, finished long before it.
16 Mar 2026
Chelsea settle instead
Fines and transfer bans agreed. No points lost.
28 Sep 2026
City, still nothing published
No decision to read, no punishment to serve.

Two clubs were docked points and one settled while City waited.

In plain terms The key events in order down a rail, with coloured dots flagging the pivotal moments. Source · Premier League statements and Opta Analyst · 2018 to 2026

Act II
— 04
TWO CLOCKS

Forest's whole case took 113 days

The calendar showed one case finished and another still open.

How to read this — Each bar starts on the day its stage began and is as long as that stage ran. The last bar has no end.

Forest's case, appeal included, took 113 days. City's first stage has run 1,330 days and has not stopped.days

Forest's case, appeal included, took 113 days. City's first stage has run 1,330 days and has not stopped.

In plain terms Bars staggered down the page, one per stage. Source · Premier League statements on Forest and City · 2023 to 2026

— 05
THE VOCABULARY

Four words that decide this story

arbitration
Settling a dispute before a private panel both sides accept, like a panchayat, not in a public court.
Profitability and Sustainability Rules
A cap on losses: £105m. In rupees, ₹1,333 crore. Europe's top divisions lose about 4% of revenue before tax in a year.
final award
The panel's written decision in full, the finding and the punishment together. None exists here yet.
sanction agreement
A settlement: the club admits the breach and agrees its punishment.

Source · Premier League and UEFA. Rate £1 = ₹126.94 · 27 September 2026

— 06
WHAT OTHERS GOT

Everyone else's punishment has a number

Chelsea and Forest were credited with cooperation after admitting the breach. So far, the cases that ended fast were the ones the club admitted.

Everton lost ten points, reduced to six on appeal, Forest four, Everton two more. City's bar is empty because nothing has been published.points
Everton, Nov 2023 Breach admitted. Reduced to six on appeal. 10
Nottingham Forest, Mar 2024 Appeal dismissed. Four points stood. 4 63 days from referral. City, 1,330 and counting.
Everton, Apr 2024 Second breach, same club. 2
Chelsea, Mar 2026 £10.75m in fines (about ₹136 crore). 0
Manchester City, Sep 2026 Nothing published, nothing imposed. 0

Everton lost ten points, reduced to six on appeal, Forest four, Everton two more. City's bar is empty because nothing has been published.

In plain terms Horizontal bars sorted by value. A bar of zero length means no points were taken. Source · Premier League statements. Rate £1 = ₹126.94 · 27 September 2026

— 07
HOW FAR OVER

Rank them by overspend and one is missing

The bars ranked what each club lost. Rank the cases with a published figure by how far each went past its own limit, and City is missing. Forest went furthest over, but did not lose the most points.

Forest went £34.5m over a £61m limit, the widest gap here.overspend, £m
Nottingham Forest, 2022/23 Lost 4 points
34.5
Everton, 2021/22 Lost 10 points
19.5
Everton, 2022/23 Lost 2 points
16.6

Forest went £34.5m over a £61m limit, the widest gap here.

In plain terms Cases ranked as rungs. Each rung's length is how far over its own limit that club went. Source · Premier League statements on Everton and Forest · 2023 to 2024

Act III
— 08
WHO HOLDS WHAT

Eight stages, and nobody owns the clock

None of the rules quoted here sets a deadline. The League promised the document itself. Its statement says: "Under Premier League Rule W.82.2, the Commission's final award will be published on the Premier League's website." That means publication is promised, but never a date.

How to read this — Read a row to see who holds that stage, and a column to see how much one party controls. The Judicial Panel picks each case's panel, called a Commission. An empty cell means no control there.

Nobody holds the bottom row, so no party can set a date. The contested cell is publication. In 2021 City lost a Court of Appeal fight to keep a ruling unpublished.
League Board
Independent Judicial Panel
The charged club
Other 19 clubs
Bringing the charge
●
○
○
○
Appointing the Commission
○
●
○
○
The hearing
◐
●
◐
○
Setting the punishment
○
●
○
○
Publishing the award
◐
●
◆
○
The appeal
○
●
◐
○
Further challenge in court
○
○
●
○
Setting the deadline
○
○
○
○
● Full control ◐ Partial / contested ○ None

Nobody holds the bottom row, so no party can set a date. The contested cell is publication. In 2021 City lost a Court of Appeal fight to keep a ruling unpublished.

In plain terms A grid of who controls which institution. Filled cells are full control, hatched cells partial, empty ones none. Source · Premier League and Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law · 2022 to 2023

— 09
WHAT INDIA ASKED FOR

An Indian committee asked for a standing officer

Nobody in that grid held a deadline. India's Supreme Court committee faced the same problem in cricket and asked for officers who exist before the dispute does. A smaller Indian football case, one defender's contract, was reported cleared in nine days.

Premier League
A panel per case
England
Lodha Committee
A standing officer
Indian cricket
Who decides
Convened for the case, then dissolved.
An Ombudsman, an Ethics Officer, an Electoral Officer.
When it starts
Only after a charge is brought.
Recommended to exist before any dispute.
Who sets the date
No rule quoted here fixes one.
An officer with a calendar.
Where it came from
The League's rulebook.
A Supreme Court committee.

The committee asked for standing officers. The Premier League convenes a panel per case.

Source · Lodha Committee report, Premier League and Scroll.in · 2015 to 2024

Reader signal

How did this land?

A private signal to the editor. Pick as many as apply — nobody else sees it, and it shapes what runs next.

Letters

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Longer responses from readers. The editor reads each one before it appears here.

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Sources

13 cited.

Every number above traces to one of these. Primary sources first.

  1. 01 Premier League statement: Manchester City referred to a Commission premierleague.com Premier League · primary
  2. 02 Premier League statement: Everton FC deducted 10 points premierleague.com Premier League · primary
  3. 03 Premier League statement: Nottingham Forest FC deducted 4 points premierleague.com Premier League · primary
  4. 04 Premier League statement: independent Appeal Board decision on Nottingham Forest premierleague.com Premier League · primary
  5. 05 Premier League statement: Everton FC deducted 2 points premierleague.com Premier League · primary
  6. 06 Premier League statement on Chelsea FC sanctions premierleague.com Premier League · primary
  7. 07 The Credibility of the Court of Arbitration for Sport journals.law.harvard.edu Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law · primary
  8. 08 Report of the Supreme Court Committee on Reforms in Cricket, Volume One gujaratcricketassociation.com Supreme Court Committee on Reforms in Cricket · primary
  9. 09 Biggest Points Gaps Between Premier League Champions and Second Place theanalyst.com Opta Analyst · analysis
  10. 10 European Club Finance and Investment Landscape ecfil.uefa.com UEFA · primary
  11. 11 Football: India defender Anwar Ali suspended for four months for illegal termination of contract scroll.in Scroll.in · secondary
  12. 12 Indian Super League: Anwar Ali cleared to play for East Bengal, say reports scroll.in Scroll.in · secondary
  13. 13 Premier League statement: Appeal Board decision on Everton FC (10 points substituted for six) premierleague.com Premier League · primary
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