At Anfield on Sunday, Manchester City will walk into one of English football’s most unforgiving visiting grounds with the Premier League’s financial verdict hanging over them. Liverpool supporters are preparing a hostile welcome for the sixth-round meeting of the 2026/27 season, City’s first match since an independent commission found the club guilty of more than 100 breaches of league financial rules.
City have appealed against the decision and that process remains under consideration. No final sporting punishment is set out in the verdict material, but the findings have added a fresh edge to a fixture already shaped by years of title races between the clubs.
Liverpool fan groups have discussed possible demonstrations and taunts online ahead of the game. Merseyside Police have said suitable policing arrangements will be in place for the occasion.
The backdrop reaches well beyond one afternoon beside Stanley Park. During the period examined by the commission, Liverpool finished behind City in the Premier League in 2013/14, 2018/19 and 2021/22, while the Merseyside club won the championship in 2019/20.
Anfield’s record offers little comfort to visiting teams in any circumstances. Liverpool have lost only 82 of their 654 home matches in the Premier League era. Since the competition began in 1992/93, away sides have won just 12.5% of league games at the stadium, the lowest rate across the division’s grounds. City, meanwhile, have won only three of 29 visits to Anfield over the past 34 years.
The findings behind the appeal
The case began with Premier League charges in February 2023, following a four-year investigation. The allegations concerned conduct from 2009 to 2018 and were referred to an independent commission after the league accused City of repeatedly failing to provide a fair and accurate account of their financial position.
The commission concluded that City had arranged sham agreements with a number of commercial partners between 2009/10 and 2017/18, entered inaccurate accounts and concealed their true financial position from auditors and football regulators. It also found significant breaches of Premier League and UEFA spending limits, alongside repeated failures to meet duties of cooperation and utmost good faith.
The findings included inaccurate financial reporting, inflated sponsorship arrangements involving parties connected to City’s Abu Dhabi ownership, and failures to disclose payments to players and former manager Roberto Mancini. The club were found to have artificially increased revenue and lowered costs by more than £900 million, including more than £830 million in improper payments linked to owners Abu Dhabi United Group and through fictitious or overstated image-rights arrangements.
The alleged failure to give complete information about managerial remuneration covered 2009/10 through 2012/13, when Mancini was in charge. Omissions involving player pay ran from 2010/11 to 2015/16. UEFA licensing and Financial Fair Play rules were said to have been breached from 2013/14 until 2017/18, while Premier League profitability and sustainability requirements were not followed between 2015/16 and 2017/18.
The case also covered City’s conduct during the league investigation from 2018 onwards, with the club found not to have willingly supplied requested documents and information. City’s appeal now leaves the legal and regulatory process unresolved, but the first footballing consequence is immediate: a trip to Liverpool, where the atmosphere was already likely to be severe.
