Full list of Premier League clubs found guilty of rule breaches since 1992
The Premier League rule breaches recorded since the competition began in 1992 range from financial violations and transfer misconduct to fielding ineligible players, failing to fulfil fixtures and breaking player-registration rules.
The issue has returned to the spotlight after Manchester City were reportedly found guilty of 114 of 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League. City have consistently denied wrongdoing and are expected to appeal, while the sanction in that case has not yet been determined.
But Manchester City are not the first Premier League club to be found guilty of breaking league rules.
Over more than three decades, several clubs have faced fines, points deductions, transfer restrictions or other sporting sanctions.
It is important, however, to distinguish between rule breaches and deliberate cheating. Not every case involved an attempt to gain a sporting advantage, and some sanctions followed administrative or financial breaches.
Here is a look at the notable clubs that have been found guilty and sanctioned since the Premier League was established in 1992.
Middlesbrough — 1997
Middlesbrough were the first Premier League club to receive a points deduction.
In December 1996, the club called off a scheduled match against Blackburn Rovers at short notice because of a severe shortage of available players.
Middlesbrough had been affected by injuries and illness and informed the Premier League that they could not field a team.
The league nevertheless ruled against the club, with a disciplinary commission imposing a three-point deduction and ordering the fixture to be replayed.
Middlesbrough were also ordered to pay a £50,000 fine and the costs of the commission.
The deduction proved significant. Middlesbrough were relegated at the end of the 1996/97 season.
The case is worth mentioning because it was a competition-rule dispute rather than a financial or match-fixing case.
Chelsea — 2005
Chelsea became one of the Premier League’s most prominent early disciplinary cases when the club was found guilty of tapping up Arsenal defender Ashley Cole.
Cole, who was under contract with Arsenal, met Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and then Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon at a London hotel.
An independent Premier League commission found Chelsea guilty of approaching a contracted player without Arsenal’s permission.
Chelsea were fined £300,000 and given a suspended three-point deduction.
Mourinho and Cole were also punished, although their individual fines were later reduced on appeal. Chelsea’s £300,000 fine remained in place.
The case became one of the best-known examples of a Premier League club being punished for an improper approach to a player.
West Ham United — 2007
West Ham were found guilty over their controversial signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.
The Premier League investigation centred on third-party ownership arrangements connected to the players.
The league concluded that West Ham had breached its rules and had failed to act in good faith.
The club pleaded guilty and received a £5.5 million fine, which at the time was the largest fine imposed by the Premier League.
West Ham were not given a points deduction.
The case became particularly controversial because Tevez later scored the goal that helped West Ham avoid relegation on the final day of the 2006/07 season.
Portsmouth — 2010
Portsmouth became the first Premier League club to enter administration.
The club was facing severe financial problems and entered administration in February 2010.
The Premier League subsequently imposed an automatic nine-point deduction.
The punishment reduced Portsmouth’s total to 10 points and left the club facing almost certain relegation.
Unlike cases involving transfer or financial-reporting misconduct, the Portsmouth punishment was linked to insolvency rules.
Sunderland — 2014
Sunderland were punished after fielding South Korean striker Ji Dong-won without the required international clearance.
Ji appeared in four Premier League matches before Sunderland discovered the administrative error and informed the league.
The club was fined but did not receive a points deduction.
The Premier League’s decision generated controversy because the rules ordinarily allowed for points to be deducted when an ineligible player was fielded. However, the circumstances surrounding Ji’s lack of clearance were treated differently.
Sunderland had earned only one point from the four matches in which Ji appeared.
Everton — 2023 and 2024
Everton became the first Premier League club to receive a points deduction for breaching the modern Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
An independent commission found that Everton had exceeded the permitted loss threshold for the period ending with the 2021/22 season.
The commission initially imposed a 10-point deduction after finding that Everton’s PSR loss was £124.5 million, above the permitted £105 million threshold.
Everton appealed the punishment.
In February 2024, an independent Appeal Board reduced the deduction from 10 points to six points.
Everton were then punished for a second PSR breach relating to the period ending in the 2022/23 season.
This time, the club received another two-point deduction.
Everton later withdrew its appeal against the second punishment, meaning the two-point deduction remained in place.
In total, Everton lost eight points during the 2023/24 season as a result of the two PSR cases.
Nottingham Forest — 2024
Nottingham Forest became another club to receive a points deduction under the Premier League’s PSR system.
The club admitted exceeding the relevant PSR threshold for the period ending in the 2022/23 season.
Because Forest had spent two seasons in the Championship during the assessment period, their permitted loss threshold was lower than the standard £105 million.
An independent commission found that Forest exceeded the £61 million threshold by £34.5 million.
Forest were therefore given an immediate four-point deduction.
The club appealed, but an independent Appeal Board upheld the four-point deduction.
Fulham — 2024
Fulham were sanctioned in 2024 for breaches of Premier League rules relating to player registrations.
The club accepted the breaches and agreed to a sanction that included a £75,000 fine.
Fulham also received a six-month ban from registering certain academy players, although the ban was suspended for one year.
The case concerned registration rules rather than match manipulation.
Southampton — 2022
Southampton were sanctioned after accepting breaches of the Premier League’s Youth Development Rules.
The club received a £10,000 fine and a six-month ban from registering academy players.
The registration ban was suspended for one year.
Again, this was a regulatory breach rather than a case involving allegations that Southampton manipulated match results.
Chelsea — 2026
Chelsea returned to the Premier League disciplinary record in 2026 following investigations into historical conduct.
The club’s current ownership voluntarily reported potential historical breaches to the Premier League in 2022.
The subsequent investigation established undisclosed payments made between 2011 and 2018 by third parties associated with the club to players, unregistered agents and other third parties.
The Premier League said Chelsea accepted that the payments should have been treated as payments made by the club and that failing to disclose them breached league rules.
Chelsea accepted a £10 million fine and a suspended one-year first-team transfer ban.
A separate investigation into youth-development rules resulted in another £750,000 fine and an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban.
That brought Chelsea’s total fines from the two Premier League processes to £10.75 million.
The Premier League said Chelsea’s voluntary disclosure, admissions and cooperation were significant mitigating factors.
The £10.75 million sanction is currently the largest financial penalty imposed by the Premier League, surpassing West Ham’s £5.5 million fine from 2007.
Manchester City — 2024, 2025 and 2026
Manchester City also have a place on the Premier League’s disciplinary record for breaches unrelated to the much larger 115-charge case.
In 2024, City accepted breaches of Premier League Rule L.33 concerning kick-off and restart obligations during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons.
City accepted another sanction in 2025 for similar breaches involving nine Premier League matches during the 2024/25 season.
Those cases are separate from the financial charges that have dominated headlines.
The 115-charge case
In February 2023, the Premier League referred Manchester City to an independent commission over 115 alleged breaches covering several seasons.
The allegations include claims concerning financial information, sponsorship revenue, remuneration of managers and players, UEFA regulations and the club’s alleged failure to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.
On September 25, 2026, Reuters reported that City had been found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges, based on reports from The Athletic and The Times.
The club has denied wrongdoing and is expected to appeal.
Crucially, no sanction has yet been announced for the 115-charge case.
That means Manchester City should not be included in a list of clubs that have already been punished for those particular charges. The reported finding of guilt and the eventual sanction are separate stages of the disciplinary process.
The list at a glance
| Club | Year | Breach | Sanction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesbrough | 1997 | Failure to fulfil fixture | 3-point deduction + £50,000 fine |
| Chelsea | 2005 | Improper approach to Ashley Cole | £300,000 + suspended 3-point deduction |
| West Ham United | 2007 | Third-party ownership/Tevez-Mascherano | £5.5m fine |
| Portsmouth | 2010 | Administration | 9-point deduction |
| Sunderland | 2014 | Fielding ineligible player | Fine |
| Southampton | 2022 | Youth-development rules | £10,000 fine + suspended registration ban |
| Everton | 2023 | PSR breach | 6 points after appeal |
| Everton | 2024 | Second PSR breach | 2-point deduction |
| Fulham | 2024 | Player-registration breaches | £75,000 fine + suspended academy ban |
| Nottingham Forest | 2024 | PSR breach | 4-point deduction |
| Chelsea | 2026 | Financial reporting/third-party investment/youth rules | £10.75m + transfer restrictions |
| Manchester City | 2024/25 | Kick-off/restart breaches | Sanction agreements |
| Manchester City | 2026 | 114 of 115 alleged financial breaches reportedly proven | Sanction pending |
The Premier League’s disciplinary system allows for a range of punishments, including fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions. Its independent commissions determine cases referred to them, while clubs can appeal certain decisions.
So, while the phrase “Premier League clubs caught cheating” may be useful for discussion, the historical record is more nuanced.
Some clubs were punished for financial-rule breaches, some for registration problems, some for transfer conduct and others for competition administration.
Manchester City’s 115-charge case is potentially much broader than most of the previous cases, but its final chapter has not yet been written because the reported verdict is expected to be followed by an appeal and the sanction has not been determined.