A new update has emerged on Manchester City’s potential FFP punishment, with an announcement on the sanctions to come ‘before the season ends’.

Last month, it was confirmed that Man City have been found guilty on 114 of their 115 charges after being accused of breaching the Premier League’s FFP rules between 2009 and 2018.

This means we should not be nearing the end of a process that started at the beginning of 2023, when the Premier League referred Man City to an independent comission after a four-year probe.

After a six-week hearing at the end of 2024, an initial verdict was announced during the international break, though Enzo Maresca’s side continue to insist on their innocence and have appealed the decision.

Now, a report from journalist Pete O’Rourke for Football Insider has provided an update on the punishment process, with the club to ‘be told their possible sanctions for their 114 charges before the season ends’.

Man City punishment timeline revealed as appeal unlikely to be successful

O’Rourke explained: “It’s hard to know when these sanctions, if any, will be made. Obviously, City have appealed.

“We’re waiting to find out the outcome of that appeal, and then after that we’ll have more to talk about what the sanctions can be when that independent panel then will meet to discuss those situations.

“There are many uncertainties involved in terms of the timing, and it is a complex situation, but the punishment, should the appeal fail, will be decided this season. It has to be or otherwise the season is effectively meaningless.”

Man City’s potential punishments include a huge fine, transfer ban, points deduction, expulsion and/or being stripped of their Premier League titles.

There are also several possible knock-on effects after the guilty verdict, including a mass player exodus, City being sued by rival clubs and their board of directors/owner being forced to stand down.

The same independent panel that came to the initial verdict will decide the punishment, while a separate panel is being used for the appeal process.

Man City say they have ‘irrefutable evidence’ to prove their innocence, but it has been widely reported that an appeal is likely to fail.

Now, leading sports lawyer James Severn has told BBC Sport that there are “substantial hurdles” for Man City to have a successful appeal.

Severn has explained why City could face an “uphill struggle” in the appeal process.

He said: “The bank statements, government records and contemporaneous payment documents could be powerful evidence if they establish a clear audit trail showing the disputed funds came from the Abu Dhabi government rather than the owners,” Severn added.

“However, if that evidence was already before the Commission, which nevertheless concluded that the arrangements were a sham, City will face an uphill struggle to demonstrate the finding was materially wrong.”

He added: “If City can demonstrate the Commission fundamentally misunderstood the emails, failed to consider their proper context or reached conclusions inconsistent with other contemporaneous documents, that could amount to a material factual error.

“City’s difficulty is that the Commission heard extensive witness and documentary evidence but nevertheless made serious findings of sham arrangements and disguised owner funding.”