The English Premier League has referred Manchester City to an independent commission over alleged rule breaches between the year 2009 to the year 2018. City has further been accused of not cooperating since the beginning of the investigations in December 2018. The EPL announced a conclusion of a four-year investigation across nine seasons and handed over their report to a commission that will be held in private and have the authority to impose any open-ended sanctions which could include fines, points deductions, or worst still relegation from the Premier League. A Premier League statement read: "In accordance with Premier League Rule W.82.1, the Premier League confirms that it has today referred a number of alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules by Manchester City Football Club to a Commission under Premier League Rule W.3.4."

According to the Premier League, the club has been charged with more than 100 breaches of rules which required it to provide "accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club's financial position." The league has further charged Manchester City with failure to cooperate with the investigations. City has issued a statement in response to the allegations by the EPL that read: “Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with. The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent Commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position. As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.” 

Manchester City had previously branded the Premier League investigations as "resulting from the illegal hacking and out-of-context publication of club emails." This was in response to a report that had been made by the German outlet Der Spiegel that had been published in November of 2018. The club in July 2020 had a two-year suspension from UEFA club competitions overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after initially being found guilty of "serious breaches" of financial fair play regulations between 2012 and 2016. The Premier League was prompted to launch its own investigation after UEFA had initially charged Manchester City in March 2019. 

While clearing Man City in their verdict, CAS ruled that much of the evidence UEFA had provided did not fall within the five-year term limit but the EPL is not bound by the same limit. The club has won six Premier League titles ever since its takeover in 2008. Robert Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini, and Pep Guardiola have all managed to lead City to EPL titles in their stints at the helm of the club. The former two each managed one title while Guardiola who was appointed in 2016 has managed a record three. The club has additionally won two FA Cup titles and five League Cup trophies ever since its takeover by City Football Group (CFG) which is owned by Arabs from Abu Dhabi. It is only the UEFA Champions League title that has proved elusive to them and Manchester City now sits at position two on the EPL table just five points behind leaders Arsenal and three points above third-placed Manchester United.