The verdict, reported by ESPN, is the conclusion of a years-long independent commission hearing — but in procedural terms it is closer to a beginning. What follows is a separate sanctioning phase, in which the same panel must determine punishment, and then a right of appeal that either side can exercise before any penalty becomes final.
The range of available sanctions is wide. Relegation sits at one end; a points deduction, fine, or transfer embargo at others. The commission has discretion, and precedent from other leagues offers only partial guidance: no Premier League club has previously faced a case of this scale or complexity, so the panel is working without a direct domestic template.
City have consistently denied wrongdoing throughout the process. Their legal options remain open, and an appeal to an independent arbitration panel could extend proceedings considerably further.
The sporting consequence that matters most — where City finish, and whether that finish stands — cannot be answered until both the sanction and any appeal are resolved. The commission's guilty finding is the first fixed point in a process that has so far resisted them.
Isla Camilleri 
Ryan C