Sport · The course

Football’s rule-book, from scratch

Tensections in three parts, in the order a newcomer needs them, then practice and two look-up tools. Read only the boxes marked “in one screen” and you have the short course; the pages carry the depth and the sources.

One live matter runs through it: the Premier League’s case against Manchester City, shown section by section as a dated example. Every finding in it is the Commission’s and under appeal, and it is never an exercise while any part of it is undecided.

The sections

Part 1

How the system works

Who holds the power, what the rule-book is, and where football's own system stops.

Section 1

Who governs English football, and on what authority

Who makes and enforces football's rules, and where does their power come from?

Section 2

The rule-book as a contract, and which edition governs

Why is the rule-book a contract, and which year's rules decide a case?

Section 3

What football's bodies cannot decide

Which questions belong somewhere else entirely?

Part 2

A case from start to finish

From the League's first question to a final decision: the Commission, the appeal, the courts and the consequences.

Section 4

From inquiry to a Commission's decision

What happens between the League's first question and a Commission's decision?

Section 5

Appeal and review: the Appeal Board and Section X

What is an appeal, what is a review, and how far can each go?

Section 6

When a court can step in

When can a court intervene, and why is it not a second appeal?

Section 7

Consequences: sanctions, finality and containment

Once the charges are proved, what happens next, who pays, and when is it over?

Part 3

Money, and who else is affected

The financial rules, what a sanction does to the people around a club, and whether a rival can recover its loss.

Section 8

The financial rules, and what breaking them means

How do football's financial rules work, and what follows a breach?

Section 9

What a sanction does to the people around a club

What does a club's sanction do to its players, sponsors, auditors and income?

Section 10

Can another club recover its losses?

When can one club claim compensation from another for a rule breach?

Alongside the course

Practise and look up

Exercises on closed records, the rule finder and the glossary.

Practice

Practice on closed records

Can you do it on a closed, dated record?

Look up

Rule finder

Every rule the course cites, in the 2022/23 and 2026/27 Handbooks, linked to the League's PDF.

Look up

Glossary

Every technical term in the course, defined and sourced.

Who decides what?

The ladder a League dispute climbs, one rung at a time, and the forums that sit beside it. Each card says who decides, how to challenge it, who may speak for a party, and what counts as evidence. Rule numbers are from the 2022/23 Handbook unless stated.

Step 1

The League's Board

Who sits: The company's directors.
Decides: Inquires into suspected breaches; reprimands, fixed penalties, fines up to £100,000; refers cases to a Commission (W.1, W.3, W.8). Under the 2026/27 squad-cost rules, issues points deductions by formula.
Challenge: Summary fines: elect a Commission instead (W.10). Squad-cost decisions: arbitration within seven or 14 days (2026/27, Appendix 2, G.1).
Who may speak for a party: Not prescribed by the Rules.
Evidence: Its own inquiry: documents and answers on demand; confidentiality is no answer (W.1, W.15, W.16).

Sources: Handbook 2022/23 · Handbook 2026/27

Step 2

Commission

Who sits: Three members of the Disciplinary Panel, chaired by a lawyer (W.19).
Decides: Whether a breach is proved, and the sanction: fines, points, suspension, compensation, a recommendation to expel (W.51).
Challenge: Appeal to an Appeal Board within 14 days (W.67).
Who may speak for a party: A solicitor or counsel, on 14 days' notice (W.81).
Evidence: Not bound by court rules of evidence: “any reliable means” (W.80). The Board proves its case on the balance of probabilities (W.45).

Sources: Handbook 2022/23

Step 3

Appeal Board

Who sits: Three members of the Appeals Panel, chaired by someone who has held judicial office (W.63).
Decides: Allows or dismisses the appeal, varies the penalty, or sends the case back (W.78).
Challenge: Final, subject to Section X arbitration (W.79).
Who may speak for a party: A solicitor or counsel, on 14 days' notice (W.81).
Evidence: A review of the Commission's evidence; new evidence only if it could not have been obtained earlier with reasonable diligence (W.71, W.74).

Sources: Handbook 2022/23

Step 4

Section X tribunal

Who sits: Three arbitrators: one chosen by each side, a chair chosen by those two (X.8 to X.10).
Decides: Reviews a disciplinary decision on five grounds only: jurisdiction; fraud, malice or bad faith; serious procedural error; a perverse reading of the law; an unreasonable decision (X.4).
Challenge: The High Court, on jurisdiction or serious irregularity only; no appeal on a point of law (X.37; Arbitration Act 1996, ss.67–69).
Who may speak for a party: A solicitor or counsel; a club by one of its officials (X.38, X.40). By statute, “a lawyer or other person” unless otherwise agreed (s.36).
Evidence: The tribunal decides whether strict rules of evidence apply (s.34(2)(f)).

Sources: Handbook 2022/23 · Arbitration Act 1996, s.36 · Arbitration Act 1996, s.34

Step 5

High Court

Who sits: A judge of the Commercial Court.
Decides: Whether the tribunal had jurisdiction (s.67) or committed a serious irregularity causing substantial injustice (s.68). Stays court claims that belong in arbitration (s.9); can enforce an award (s.66).
Challenge: Further appeal only with the High Court's own permission ([2021] EWCA Civ 1110).
Who may speak for a party: Rights of audience are reserved to authorised persons (Legal Services Act 2007, s.12). A litigant may appear in person, with a McKenzie friend's help.
Evidence: The court's own rules.

Sources: Arbitration Act 1996 · [2021] EWCA Civ 1110 · Legal Services Act 2007, s.12

Beside the ladder

Employment Tribunal

Who sits: An employment tribunal (composition not covered here).
Decides: Statutory employment claims, which the Rules cannot take away (Employment Rights Act 1996, s.203).
Challenge: Not covered here.
Who may speak for a party: In person, or by counsel or a solicitor, a trade union or employers' association representative, or “any other person” (Employment Tribunals Act 1996, s.6(1)).
Evidence: The tribunal's own procedure rules.

Sources: Employment Rights Act 1996, s.203 · Employment Tribunals Act 1996, s.6

Beside the ladder

Football regulator

Who sits: The statutory regulator under the Football Governance Act 2025.
Decides: Operating licences and the suitability of owners and officers for the top five tiers (Parts 3 and 4). Must be notified before the League sanctions a club for a relevant rule breach (s.55).
Challenge: Internal review, then the Competition Appeal Tribunal; on a point of law, the Court of Appeal (s.84).
Who may speak for a party: Not covered here.
Evidence: Not covered here.

Sources: Football Governance Act 2025 (contents) · s.55 · s.84

Beside the ladder

Court of Arbitration for Sport

Who sits: A panel under the CAS Code, seated in Switzerland.
Decides: Appeals from UEFA and FIFA decisions, with “full power to review the facts and the law” (Code R57). Not League disputes (X.2.4).
Challenge: Not covered here.
Who may speak for a party: “Persons of their choice” (Code R30).
Evidence: The panel may exclude evidence that was available, or reasonably discoverable, before the decision appealed against (Code R57).

Sources: CAS Code (2025), R30 and R57 · CAS 2020/A/6785

As at 2026-10-07 — 11 of 11 sections approved. Drafts are linked for review while the wing is hidden; the wing cannot go live until every section is approved. probative.io is a research and investigations practice, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice.