Stoke City and Championship rivals look on as Man City relegation verdict delivered on FFP charges
A football finance expert claims that Manchester City would be as good as relegated from the Premier League if they are found guilty of the most serious of their alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules because a points deduction would be so severe.
Clubs in the top two divisions have looked on with interest as Man City's FFP saga has been played out over the past few months, the case being heard in London and now reported to have been concluded. That just leaves the long-awaited judgement to be made public.
A verdict is expected later this year, with both parties retaining the right to appeal. But during a discussion on the Overlap Fan Debate podcast, finance professor Kieran Maguire explained that it was unlikely the Premier League would expel Man City and relegate them to join Stoke City and Co in the Championship as the EFL is not obliged to accept them.
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Nonetheless, he admitted that a significant points deduction could effectively lead to the same outcome, particularly when considering recent deductions for Everton and Nottingham Forest last season.
Maguire explained: "In the case of City, there's actually three charges. It's not 115. Has money come in from the owners which they pretend to be from the sponsors? If that is the case, then that is fraud. That is about as serious as it gets. And, if found guilty of those charges, then the book will be thrown at Manchester City and it's going to be a massive points deduction.
"You can't just relegate them because the Premier League and the EFL are independent bodies, so the EFL doesn't have to accept them. Given the Everton and the Nottingham Forest points deductions of last season were both described by the commission as minor breaches, well what City are being accused of is major breaches over a nine to 10-year period, so you would be looking at somewhere between 60 and 100 points if you go through on a charge by charge basis. That would relegate them."
Maguire was also sceptical about the potential success of an appeal, adding: "I think there are very narrow grounds for appeal. It's only if the conduct of the committee itself was unprofessional in some way that one of the parties can potentially make an appeal.
"If City are found guilty then the whole board of directors has to resign because they will have been found guilty of misrepresentation, effectively lying to a commission."
