"The most serious issue Manchester City may now be comprehending is not the financial offences themselves, but the failure to co-operate," Dan Chapman told teamtalk.com. Manchester City were reported as guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against them, and 35 of those relate specifically to an alleged failure to cooperate with Premier League investigations between December 2018 and February 2023.

The obstruction case Chapman says could matter most

Chapman’s point is that obstruction may carry more weight than the underlying financial allegations if the commission decides it points to deliberate delay. He said the club were, in effect, charges that they were deliberately choosing to delay or obstruct the investigation.

He also argued that a financial-only sanction would be hard to square with serious and multiple obstruction offences. "For serious and multiple offences of obstruction, if that is indeed what City have been found guilty of, for the sanction to be only a financial one the precedent that would be set is inconceivable," he said.

Chapman added that the commission would be wary of any message that a club could buy its way out of trouble by not co-operating. In his view, the wording of the findings will matter, and no clean read on punishment is possible until that reasoning is published.

The precedent City are up against

Chapman pointed to recent disciplinary cases to show why co-operation does not guarantee leniency. Everton and Nottingham Forest both lost points in recent seasons after fully cooperating with the Premier League’s investigation and the commission and admitting offences.

He was even more specific about Forest. During the 2024 case, the commission found Nottingham Forest demonstrated exceptional cooperation, yet still imposed a points penalty. He also said Chelsea’s case showed how cooperation can reduce investigation and legal costs, while making City’s position look weaker if the charges stand.

That leaves City with a problem that goes beyond the size of any punishment. The financial allegations may be the headline, but the obstruction charges are the part Chapman believes could push the commission toward a sporting sanction.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →