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Man City handed new relegation bombshell which could affect Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola looks on during draw with Inter
-Credit: (Image: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)


If Manchester City are to be expelled from the Premier League they could also be booted out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

City are currently defending themselves against the Premier League after they were charged with 130 breaches of FFP rules. The charges date back to between 2009 and 2018 when the Blues won the top-flight title on four occasions.

The Manchester club have always insisted they are innocent of the allegations and that they have irrefutable evidence to clear their names. Considering the magnitude of the charges, should City be found guilty they could be automatically relegated from the top flight and left without a division to compete in.

From there, they would have to apply to the EFL for membership but the football league is under no obligation to accept them. The Telegraph reports that rules regarding the FA Cup and Carabao Cup paint grim reading for City if they are handed the strictest punishment.

The FA Cup's rules state: "Where a club has been admitted to participate in the competition but is then removed from the league in which it competes (or its league fixtures are suspended), the Professional Game Board [PGB] may remove the club from the competition." Meanwhile, the Carabao Cup rules read that a club must be affiliated to a football league or the Premier League to compete in the competition.

UEFA rules are more complex though as those state that any team with a UEFA club licence can compete in their competitions. It is believed to be unclear whether expulsion from their domestic competition is grounds for the European governing body to withdraw that licence.

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FIFA meanwhile do not punish their guidelines for clubs to remain in their Club World Cup. If City were to be kicked out of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, it would likely have a knock-on impact for the likes of; Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur who could gain byes to latter stages to even out the number of teams competing.