Martin Keown drops bombshell on 'what he's heard' about Man City's 115 charges verdict

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has revealed the rumours he has heard regarding the appeal by Manchester City against the guilty verdict for breaching Premier League financial rules.

City have been found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges against the club, which spanned nearly a decade of breaching various financial rules and subsequent non-compliance with the Premier League's investigation into the matter.

The Etihad Stadium club maintains its innocence and has appealed the verdict which was reached by an Independent Commission, citing 'irrefutable evidence' as the blue half of Manchester seeks to clear its name.

The appeal is due to take place during this season and an outcome of this is expected to be announced before the conclusion of the current campaign.

Depending on the outcome of this appeal, sanctions could then be applied to City this season should the club's guilt still stand.

City top of the table but with a cloud hanging over them

On the pitch in the Premier League, things could not be going better for Enzo Maresca's side as they sit top of the table with maximum points from their first seven games of the 2026-27 league campaign.

The mood amongst City and its fans has been that of defiance in the matches played since the guilty verdict on 114 charges was revealed.

It remains to be seen what will happen with the ongoing appeal and what punishment City could be handed should it fail.

Speculation has suggested points deductions being applied over one or multiple seasons in the future, financial punishments, retrospective stripping of honours won during the period investigated and even expulsion altogether from the Premier League.

Until these points are addressed, question marks about City's season will endure and about which division the club will be playing in next season.

'I'm hearing rumours that this will all be over in a number of weeks'

Former Arsenal defender Keown - who won three Premier League titles with the Gunners - believes that there could be a resolution to the case within 'six weeks or so' and that there might not be the threat of relegations or points deductions coming City's way.

Speaking on talkSPORT to Jim White and former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan, Keown has revealed he has heard rumours that City could instead be handed 'huge fines' as their punishment in this case.

He said: "They're (City fans) resolute, they believe that they're right and their owners are giving them that firm message - irrefutable evidence will be revealed so they're holding on to that.

"I'm hearing rumours that this will all be over in a number of weeks - I'm just telling you what I'm hearing.

"In six weeks or so we'll see what's going to happen and it won't be nearly as bad as we think it might be. Maybe they get off with huge fines and we return to the football pitch again."

The formal appeal was lodged by City at the start of October and the final outcome of this is expected to be reached before the end of this season.

Former Palace owner Jordan questioned how this potential approach might work in practice and that a financial penalty might be the punishment only if City were to do some form of deal and admit a degree of guilt, which would be a departure from the club's consistent position of maintaining innocence throughout this process.

Jordan said: "That's only if they do a deal, if they're doing a deal because the process has to be followed through and the appeal process is basically 12 weeks.

"That works on the basis of 12 weeks from the date of being found guilty, they have a five-day hearing with a 30 day judgement there afterwards.

"If they go to the Premier League now and say to the Premier League in advance of an appeal, what we'll do is drop our hands and we can work a deal out amongst ourselves so we don't need to go to an appeal, if that's what you're hearing.

"That means Man City have got to admit guilt or some degree of guilt or culpability. How are they going to get around that one?

"If they do a deal and pay it up, everyone is going to turn around and say 'well you've just done a deal and paid it up'".

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