Man City given 115 charges reality check - and hope - amid £366m appeal for stripped title

Any Manchester City fans who take a tour of Juventus' Allianz Stadium this week might do a double-take (if they know their Italian football history).

Juventus are by far and away the most successful team in Italy, with 36 official titles in Serie A. Inter Milan are next with 20, officially.

But a look in the Allianz trophy room, and around the ground, will see reference to 38 titles. Two more than the official history books suggest.

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And that could be a potential glimpse into the future for City, given the controversial reason for the discrepancy between Juventus and the Italian authorities.

Juve are back to the top table of Italian and European football these days (and global football too, as they will face City in the Club World Cup in June). But back in 2006 they were shamed and expelled from Serie A in a scandal that continues to cause friction today.

The Calciopoli corruption scandal did not just involve Juventus, but they were the biggest losers. It saw Juve's general manager and CEO resign in disgrace and given lifetime bans from football.

Juventus' two titles in 2004/05 and 2005/06 were stripped from them and they were relegated to Serie B with a 30 point deduction, later reduced to nine. Unsurprisingly, they lost the majority of their star-studded squad and manager Fabio Capello and are yet to return to the top levels of European football in financial terms.

Why is this relevant?

Because Juve felt they were harshly treated, and have spent the subsequent years appealing the decision to strip them of their two titles - of which one went unassigned and the other controversially given to Inter.

City, visitors to Turin on Wednesday, are awaiting verdict of a trial of their own. Before we go on, it should be made clear that City's trial is with an independent tribunal against alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules. The club maintain their innocence and welcomed the independent tribunal to present evidence they believe will clear their name.

The Calciopoli scandal regarded different offences all together, and criminal charges were brought against individuals. They are not the same - however, the consequences could be similar.

While there is no precedent for City's potential punishments if they are found guilty of the most serious offences, you will hear plenty of calls for relegation, titles stripped, huge fines and points deductions. Jose Mourinho is publicly hoping to get a retrospective Premier League winner's medal and the bonus from Manchester United that would come with it.

Juventus spent a year in Serie B, before bouncing back to the top flight to win nine of the following 17 campaigns - all in a nine-year stretch between 2012 and 2020. That gives City hope that any punishment wouldn't be a permanent exclusion from the top table.

The Old Lady have also tried hard to have the two titles reinstated - three appeals have been lodged with still no definitive outcome, and the last was filed in 2011 to claim back €444m (£366m) in damages for the title awarded to Inter, although Juve finally withdrew that request in 2023 to end the final legal battle regarding Calciopoli, 17 years after it blew Italian football wide open.

City haven't been found guilty yet and insist they won't be in the first place. Pep Guardiola says he would stay as manager if they were relegated, and holds complete faith in the club. Should City be successful, expect claims for compensation over the allegations that have followed them for years.

And whichever side loses in the upcoming verdict, there is the right to appeal, ensuring the high-profile saga would continue for even longer. If City were found guilty, they wouldn't willingly go taking down evidence of their Premier League titles proudly displayed around the Etihad, just like Juventus haven't (and still won't).

They would argue, as Juve have done for almost 20 years, that the titles were won fairly on the pitch regardless of any alleged wrongdoing off it. (Once again, City insist there is no wrongdoing at all.) Their rivals would clamour to reclaim titles they didn't win, for compensation, and any verdict will not change the minds of fans on both sides who have long made up their minds over City's guilt.

As Juventus have learned the hard way, a verdict in a huge scandal is not the end of the discussion, only the start. City will wait patiently for the verdict of the independent tribunal in the coming weeks and months, but they will discover that the debate around the charges will never go away.