New Delhi, Sept. 30 -- City, in an independent panel's verdict published Tuesday, was found guilty of almost all of the unprecedented 100-plus charges against it over a nine-year period in which the Abu Dhabi-backed team changed the landscape of the richest and most popular soccer league in the world.

City's alleged financial wrongdoing was worth in excess of 900 million pounds ($1.19 billion), and Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the ruling showed City "systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade."

"This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history," Masters said.

City now faces severe sanctions that could include a huge points deduction or even expulsion...