Manchester City Appeal Confirmed as HMRC Tax Probe Adds Fresh Twist

Manchester City’s financial case has opened another front. New reporting says HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) launched a civil investigation into the club’s tax affairs in 2018 after leaked internal emails raised questions about its commercial arrangements and payments.

The timing matters because the disclosure comes less than a week after City moved from saying it would challenge the verdict to formally lodging its appeal. The club filed its appeal on 1 October, and the Premier League confirmed it the following day. These remain separate processes: HMRC has not announced a tax finding against City, and there is still no confirmed Premier League punishment or appeal outcome.

What Has Changed in the Manchester City Case?

StraightBet’s previous Manchester City verdict update covered the independent Commission’s findings, City’s planned challenge and the separate sanction process. The new development is different: the Financial Times has now reported that UK tax authorities were already examining City’s tax affairs years before the Premier League case reached its verdict.

According to the Financial Times report, HMRC opened a civil investigation in 2018 following the publication of leaked internal emails. The report says the investigation was conducted under Code of Practice 8 and was never formally closed. It also says HMRC has not taken formal action against the club. Manchester City and HMRC declined to comment to the FT.

That last point is important. The existence of an investigation does not mean HMRC has concluded that City underpaid tax, and it does not amount to a criminal allegation. For now, the significant news is that the tax authorities had already opened a separate civil inquiry into some of the financial arrangements now under wider scrutiny.

What Is a Code of Practice 8 Investigation?

HMRC’s own Code of Practice 8 guidance explains that the process is used for civil investigations where the tax authority wants to establish the facts and recover any tax, interest or penalties that may be due. It is not, by itself, a criminal fraud investigation.

That distinction matters in a story this sensitive. The FT reports that the City inquiry looked at whether complex financial arrangements had reduced tax liabilities. But there is no public HMRC decision saying tax was underpaid, no announced tax bill and no criminal case arising from the reported 2018 investigation.

City’s position, according to the FT, was that there was nothing improper about its commercial arrangements. With HMRC refusing to comment publicly on individual tax affairs, there is also no official confirmation of the current status of the investigation beyond the reporting that it was never formally closed.

Why the Tax Questions Have Returned Now

The tax angle had already started moving before today’s report. On 1 October, the UK Parliament’s Treasury Committee confirmed that its chair, Dame Meg Hillier, had written to HMRC about the possible tax implications of the Premier League findings.

The committee asked whether HMRC was aware of the Commission’s findings, whether it had requested an unredacted copy of the decision and how the tax authority approaches remuneration and possible tax avoidance within football clubs. That letter did not accuse City of a tax offence, but it put the issue firmly on the political and regulatory agenda.

Today’s disclosure adds an important piece of context: HMRC was not encountering the underlying questions for the first time after the 2026 Premier League verdict. According to the FT, a civil investigation had already been opened in 2018.

Manchester City Has Formally Lodged Its Appeal

This is an important update since StraightBet’s verdict coverage. At that stage, City had made clear that it intended to challenge the Commission’s findings. The appeal is now formally active. Manchester City confirmed that it lodged what it called its “comprehensive Appeal” at 7pm on Thursday 1 October 2026 against the Commission’s opinion.

City says the decision contains material errors of law, principle and fact, describes the opinion as unsafe, and continues to maintain that it is innocent of the accusations. On 2 October, the Premier League confirmed that the appeal had been lodged with the Chair of the Judicial Panel and that an independent Appeal Board will hear the case. The hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted.

That changes the procedural position, but not the immediate football position. City are no longer merely expected to appeal: the appeal process is under way. There is still no published appeal ruling, and the separate sanction process has not produced a confirmed punishment.

Does the HMRC Probe Change the Appeal?

Not automatically. There is no official statement saying the reported HMRC investigation forms part of City’s Premier League appeal, changes the appeal timetable or alters the evidence that the Appeal Board will consider. The tax investigation and the Premier League disciplinary process should therefore be treated as separate matters unless one of the authorities says otherwise.

The HMRC revelation does, however, add fresh context around the wider scrutiny of City’s historic financial arrangements. It is a substantial new development for the story, but it is not evidence that the appeal has failed or that any particular sporting sanction is now more likely.

What About Manchester City’s Punishment?

Nothing new has been confirmed on the sanction. The Premier League has already said the punishment will be dealt with separately, and its rules give the Commission broad discretion over possible penalties. Until an official decision is published, a fine, points deduction or any other sporting sanction remains a possibility rather than a confirmed outcome.

For South African readers following long-term football markets, our soccer betting guide explains how outright and season markets work, while the main sports betting guide covers settlement rules and why the exact wording of a market matters.

The safest approach is still to separate what is official from what is being discussed. City are playing under the current league standings, their appeal is active, and no punishment from this case has yet been announced.

The Betting Read

For bettors, this story increases uncertainty around Manchester City without changing the league table today. The new tax disclosure is serious because it shows that scrutiny of the club’s financial arrangements extends beyond the Premier League, but there is no confirmed sporting consequence attached to it.

That makes long-term markets the area to watch. Title, top-four and season-position bets can be affected if a future sporting sanction changes the table, but there is no basis yet for assuming what that sanction will be or when it would take effect. Short-term match markets remain far more dependent on City’s form, injuries, team selection and opposition.

If you do bet on Premier League markets, compare the published rules at licensed local operators rather than relying on social-media claims about what a possible sanction would mean. StraightBet’s betting sites guide covers the South African bookmakers we have reviewed.

What Happens Next?

There are now three separate developments to follow. First, Manchester City’s Premier League appeal will proceed in private until an outcome can be published. Second, the separate sanction process remains unresolved. Third, attention will turn to whether HMRC takes any fresh or public action following the Commission’s findings and the Treasury Committee’s questions.

The key point is that only one of those areas produced genuinely new information today: the revelation that HMRC opened a civil investigation into City’s tax affairs in 2018 and that, according to the FT, it was never formally closed. Anything beyond that — including claims of a tax penalty, a failed appeal, a points deduction or relegation — would be getting ahead of the confirmed facts.

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