Man City reportedly face expulsion if financial appeal fails
Premier League rivals reportedly believe that Manchester City should face expulsion or severe relegation if their appeal against financial rule breaches fails, as fallout continues ahead of this weekend’s clash at Anfield.
According to reports from the Manchester Evening News and the Mirror, clubs across the top flight are growing in the belief that the reigning champions should receive a heavy sanction if the independent commission’s verdict is upheld. City were found guilty on 114 of 115 alleged infringements covering a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018, with accusations that sham sponsorship deals inflated their income by nearly £900million.
Rivals push for multi-year sanctions
While Manchester City have denied any wrongdoing and submitted an appeal, there is little sympathy across the rest of the division. Reports indicate that teams feel any punishment should fit the crime by extending across multiple seasons, rather than a single-season points deduction that would see the club bounce straight back.
Speaking on The Overlap’s Fan Debate, Jamie Carragher explained why a short-term penalty would not suffice for offences spread over nearly a decade. Carragher told The Overlap:
People are talking about 80 points or 100 points over one season, that gets you relegated and then you come back again. I think a few players would leave but some of them would think they can put up with that for a year.
Carragher argued that a longer timeframe is necessary to properly address the scale of the breaches. He told The Overlap:
Because this has gone on for so long, I do think the punishment should be over a number of years, three to five years. I think then that players would move on.
Stan Collymore calls for trophy action
Former Liverpool and Nottingham Forest forward Stan Collymore has gone further by suggesting that the club should be stripped of silverware won during and after the disputed period. Speaking to Canadasportsbetting, Collymore said:
First of all, if any of the clubs I played for were found guilty of what Manchester City has been found guilty of – of course, still waiting for the appeal, but for now – I would take all trophies of those clubs, including my own, both for that period and the period after, as one leads to the other.
Collymore argued that subsequent success stems directly from the earlier advantages. Speaking to Canadasportsbetting, he added:
Pending appeal, they could be proved to have cheated from 2009 to 2018 and built a club that is then super successful afterwards, so you would need to take the trophies they won after 2018 away from them again.
Financial impact and transfer speculation
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has outlined the stark financial realities City could face if they drop out of the top flight. Maguire estimates that the club could sacrifice roughly £275million in combined broadcasting and Champions League income alongside significant matchday revenue drops.
Former striker Dion Dublin admitted the situation has left him shocked as fans wait for the appeal process to conclude. Dublin said:
I feel quite sad about it. I think everybody feels the same. It’s quite a big shock. I’ve never heard of anything like this in football before, of this scale.
Meanwhile, speculation has already begun regarding potential player departures should the worst-case scenario materialise. Mick Brown told Football Insider that Manchester United could look to target midfielder Elliot Anderson if City are forced out of the division.
What is next
Enzo Maresca’s side travel to Anfield this Sunday to face Liverpool in their first domestic fixture since the independent commission’s verdict was announced, with referee Chris Kavanagh officiating the high-stakes encounter.
