Jamie Carragher has launched a fierce criticism of Manchester City’s ownership following the independent commission’s guilty verdict over the club’s long-running Premier League financial case.

The former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit questioned how Manchester City’s current owners can continue to run the club following the findings, while also challenging the club to publish the evidence it says proves its innocence.

Carragher’s comments come after an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period between 2009/10 and 2017/18. The commission also upheld the majority of charges relating to the club’s alleged failure to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.

Carragher: “How Can The Ownership Continue?”

Reacting to the verdict, Carragher questioned whether Manchester City’s ownership could remain in place following the findings.

“They are a DISGRACE and I just don’t see how the ownership can continue after what has happened here.”

He also directly challenged Manchester City’s repeated insistence that it possesses evidence capable of disproving the allegations.

“They say they have irrefutable evidence. Where is it? PUT IT OUT THERE.”

Carragher believes the issue goes beyond the football team, Pep Guardiola, the players or the club’s current sporting success. In his view, the central question is the responsibility of the ownership and senior leadership.

“For me, this is all about the owners. I don’t know how the owners can continue in English football.”

The comments represent one of the strongest public reactions to the verdict from a prominent former Premier League player and broadcaster.

What Did The Independent Commission Find?

The Premier League announced on September 29, 2026, that an independent commission had found Manchester City guilty of serious financial breaches covering the period from the 2009/10 season through to 2017/18.

According to the Premier League, the commission found that Manchester City had arranged what it described as “sham” contracts with commercial partners. The arrangements were found to have artificially increased the club’s reported revenues and reduced its reported costs by more than £900 million over the affected period.

The commission also found that the club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators.

The findings are particularly significant because the financial information submitted by clubs is used to determine compliance with Premier League and UEFA financial regulations.

The commission concluded that Manchester City would have been in significant breach of the relevant spending limits had its finances been accurately reported.

Manchester City Still Denies Wrongdoing

Despite the verdict, Manchester City has not accepted the commission’s conclusions.

The club said it was “disappointed and surprised” by the decision and maintained that it is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League.

Manchester City has also insisted that it possesses what it describes as a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” supporting its position. The club says the commission’s opinion contains material errors of law, principle and fact and has confirmed that it intends to pursue the available appeal process.

That is the basis for Carragher’s challenge.

His argument is essentially that if Manchester City genuinely possesses evidence capable of overturning or seriously undermining the commission’s findings, the club should make that evidence available publicly rather than simply asserting that it exists.

However, whether all of that evidence can legally be published is a separate question. Some material presented during disciplinary proceedings can be subject to confidentiality, legal privilege or other restrictions.

The Ownership Question

The ownership issue is potentially one of the most controversial aspects of the fallout.

Manchester City has been owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group since 2008, with Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the principal figure associated with the ownership.

The independent commission’s findings included allegations concerning financial arrangements involving entities connected to the ownership structure. Reports on the commission’s findings say the arrangements included sponsorship and other transactions through which funding was allegedly disguised or presented differently from the underlying reality.

Carragher therefore sees the verdict as raising a fundamental question about whether the people ultimately responsible for the club can continue to occupy their positions.

That, however, remains Carragher’s opinion rather than an order contained in the commission’s ruling.

The Premier League has not announced that Manchester City’s owners must sell the club or leave English football. The question of sanctions is being dealt with separately, and the club has the right to appeal the commission’s findings.

What Happens Next?

The immediate next step is Manchester City’s appeal.

The club has until October 2, 2026, to appeal the independent commission’s findings. No final sporting punishment has yet been imposed as a consequence of the verdict.

The eventual sanctions could therefore become another major chapter in the case.

For Manchester City, the appeal represents an opportunity to challenge the commission’s conclusions and present the arguments and evidence it says demonstrate that the verdict is fundamentally wrong.

For the Premier League, the case represents a major test of its financial regulations and disciplinary system.

And for Carragher, the central issue is now the credibility and continued position of Manchester City’s ownership.

His question is straightforward: if Manchester City says it has irrefutable evidence proving its position, when will the public get to see it?

Until the appeal process is completed and any sanctions are determined, the legal and regulatory story is not over. But the guilty verdict has undoubtedly shifted the debate from whether the Premier League could prove its case to what consequences should follow—and whether Manchester City’s ownership can continue to operate in English football under the same structure.