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Huge points deduction, Premier League expulsion - Man City 115 charges verdict impacts Arsenal

A general view of the Manchester City club crest in the stadium.
-Credit: (Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.)


After a long wait, progress looks to be being made over the charges made by the Premier League to Manchester City.

The current Premier League champions are accused of at least 115 breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018. City vehemently deny all of the charges and will defend themselves in front of an independent panel.

After months of waiting, the hearing is due to start in a matter of days. It is expected to take 10 weeks to complete, a decision may then not be reached until early next year.

If found guilty, the punishments for City are expected to be severe. They could be hit with a points deduction, the same punishments handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest last season for breaches of the rules - although City’s case is much more serious.

The club could also potentially also face expulsion from the Premier League. There is however it seems unlikely that the club will be stripped of previous Premier League titles.

But what should happen if City are found guilty of breaches? Our football.london writers have had their say.

READ MORE: Man City 'will be relegated if found guilty' as Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs watch on

READ MORE: Man City's FFP charges in full as Premier League hearing date set for 115 alleged breaches

Amie Wilson

An unprecedented situation such as this makes it hard to know what sort of punishment would be right if City are found guilty. The only other examples to go off in recent seasons is the cases against Everton and Nottingham Forest.

Both teams were handed points deductions after being found guilty of breaches. After appeal, the Toffees were deducted a total of eight points for two separate breaches, while Forest were deducted four points for one breach.

If the punishment for City goes down this route, then the deduction will have to be considerable, enough to see them fighting relegation, considering the punishment to both Everton and Forest for one breach as opposed to the 115 City are accused of.

A big fine is not really going to hurt the club, and I don’t know if expulsion from the league is the right thing to do, at least logistically. The only route I can see is a massive points deduction, but making sure that’s reflective of the crime, if they are found guilty, is not going to be easy.

Jack Flintham

The Premier League are walking a tightrope when it comes to dealing with City should they be found guilty of their Financial Fair Play (FFP) charges. Having treated Everton and Nottingham Forest strictly, there would likely be a civil war break out if Pep Guardiola's side are given a metaphorical slap on the wrist.

Personally, I find relegation to League Two or the National League rather pointless. Rangers were handed a similar fate in Scotland and managed to return as quickly as possible.

If guilty of all charges, a hefty points deduction akin to Luton Town's 30 when they entered administration in the late noughties might be fair. While City are unlikely to go down, such a deduction would likely prevent them from entering the Champions League which in of itself would be a severe punishment.

Ultimately, the Premier League will be under a heavy spotlight if City are guilty of these charges and many clubs will be hoping to pull their feet to the fire to ensure justice, in their eyes, is achieved.

Tom Coley

The short answer is that we really just don't know. There are so many factors at play here: How many charges are they found guilty of (if any), how severe are they, what sort of punishment is therefore viable?

People have largely made up their mind that City are indeed culpable and they need shooting off to the moon, but there will be complaints no matter what. Stripping titles doesn't stop the players from being the ones that beat the rest and lifted the trophy when it happened.

How many points would they need to be deducted to make it impactful? It would take almost 50 to even put them in relegation danger, and even then it is a temporary, one season thing. We have to wait and see what happens here. Justice won't be served in the eyes of everyone and the world of football is already too emotive as it is.

Kieran Horn

Though a major milestone in the Manchester City financial charges case has arrived, it will likely be another tense wait before any final outcome or decision is made.

The absolute worst-case scenario for City could be disastrous with expulsion from the Premier League and the stripping of all their major honours likely to take place. However, no one can confidently say exactly what the potential punishment may be for their financial breaches.

Everton and Nottingham Forest are proof that even if City are not found guilty of all 115 charges, some form of punishment will arrive if they are not proven entirely innocent. Though, we cannot honestly predict the outcome, with so much still to be decided, and thus it is better waiting for the hearing to begin before making any assumptions.

Matt Abbott

A points deduction rather than expulsion seems more likely from the Premier League. While there is precedent from Italy for relegation stemming from sporting scandals, when Juventus dropped to Serie B and were penalised points the following season and fined and stripped of a pair of titles almost two decades ago, a repeat of that seems improbable, especially losing any trophies.

They were initially deducted 30 points, which became 17 after an appeal before eventually ending up at only nine, the same as what Luton Town lost a few years later, and that would surely be a starting point. Usurping that as the most significant points deduction in English football history, especially as Luton's was for financial irregularities, would make some sense.

Isaac Johnson

Any potential punishment depends on what Man City get found guilty of, if they do. The club are basically accused of two things, each of different magnitude - illicit financing and mere un-cooperation.

Furthermore, it remains unclear what scope the Premier League actually has within its remit. In the Everton case last season, an independent panel said the Premier League unjustifiably handed Everton a 12-point deduction and reduced it to six. You can be sure if any sanction is passed down then it will be appealed by Man City.

The Premier League has backed itself into a corner. Win the case and the reputation of the league from 2009 and 2018 is tainted. Lose the case and all trust in their governance is lost, amid the looming threat of an independent regulator.

Ultimately, the Premier League is a business and it does not benefit the company for one of its starring clubs to be relegated, either directly or through a mass points deduction. I’d argue the stripping of titles is more likely but even that seems slim. Again, it all depends how severe the breaches are but until then, Man City are innocent until proven otherwise.