Premier League clubs are pushing for Manchester City to receive a punishment extending beyond a points deduction that would relegate it to the Championship for one season, after it was found guilty of serious financial breaches spanning 9 seasons.
Clubs call for longer punishment for Manchester City
Officials at several clubs believe that City’s absence from the Premier League for one season would not reflect the scale of the breaches established by the independent commission. The clubs are calling for the punishment to reflect the duration and seriousness of the breaches and to keep Manchester City out of the Premier League for longer.
The Guardian quoted a source at one club as saying that relegation to the Championship for one season would not be enough and that the required punishment should act as a deterrent against similar breaches being repeated. Rival clubs have no direct role in determining the punishment and will not take part in a vote on it.
Independent commission prepares to determine punishment
The independent commission that heard the case and found Manchester City guilty will issue the punishment after holding a separate hearing at which it will hear submissions from the Premier League and the club on the appropriate sanction.
The commission concluded that Manchester City used sham commercial arrangements to inflate its revenues and reduce its costs by more than £900 million, or about $1.17 billion, between the 2009-2010 and 2017-2018 seasons. It also found that the club submitted accounts that did not reflect its true financial position and breached rules concerning its failure to co-operate with the league’s investigation.
Manchester City has announced its intention to appeal the guilty verdict, while maintaining that it is innocent and saying it has conclusive evidence to support its position. The punishment will be determined at the separate hearing, while the club retains the right to appeal both the guilty verdict and any sanction subsequently imposed.
Breaches affected spending limits
Calls for a tougher punishment are based on the commission’s findings about the impact of the arrangements at issue on the club’s accounts. The commission confirmed that Manchester City would have significantly exceeded the spending limits set by the Premier League and Uefa in several seasons if those arrangements had been included in its accounts in the manner established by the investigation.
There is no comparable precedent in the Premier League that can be used as a benchmark for determining the punishment, given the number of breaches and the long period covered by the case.
The commission has broad discretion in choosing the sanction. The league says the list of available punishments is not exhaustive and includes fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions, while the options under consideration include a transfer ban and expulsion from the Premier League. The Premier League is acting in this case as the party that brought the proceedings and has the right to request the punishment it considers appropriate.
Manchester City, meanwhile, will present its submissions on the sanction before the independent commission reaches its decision. The league’s board is expected to determine the association’s position on the punishment independently of the other clubs. The earlier Everton case showed that the commission is not bound by the punishment requested by the league.
Everton precedent defines the limits of the commission’s powers
The league requested a 12-point deduction for Everton for breaching the profitability and sustainability rules, but the commission decided on a 10-point deduction before the punishment was later reduced to 6 points on appeal. Rival clubs’ efforts are not limited to calling for a tougher sanction, with several also pushing for all the proceedings in the case to be completed before the end of the current season.
Based on these deadlines, a decision on the appeal against the guilty verdict could be issued by the end of January 2027, if the proceedings follow the timetable set out in the new rules. A sanction hearing could be held during the same period, but the order of the proceedings has not yet been decided. Manchester City would also be able to appeal the punishment imposed on it later.
The club may also try to challenge the application of the new deadlines on the grounds that they were approved during the current season, while the conduct for which it is being held accountable dates back to previous years. Some clubs’ tougher stance coincides with several of Manchester City’s rivals considering whether to seek financial compensation after the guilty verdict was issued.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool had retained the right to take legal action against City if it were found guilty, and have already begun informal discussions about the next step, with each club to make its decision independently. The prospects of compensation claims have been strengthened after Burnley succeeded this year in securing more than £35 million, or about $45.5 million, including compensation and interest from Everton.
Burnley based its case on the impact of Everton’s breach of the profitability and sustainability rules on its relegation from the Premier League during the 2021-2022 season. The scale of the punishment imposed on Manchester City could influence rival clubs’ decision on whether to pursue compensation claims.
The final punishment will form part of each club’s assessment of the damage it believes it suffered and its decision on whether to take independent legal action after the sporting case has completed all its stages. Some clubs’ position is also linked to dissatisfaction with the league’s handling of previous financial breaches.
Several clubs in the competition remain dissatisfied with the settlement reached by the league with Chelsea, which resulted in a £10 million fine, or about $13 million, after the club reported the breaches. The Chelsea case concerned illegal payments to players and agents during Roman Abramovich’s previous ownership.
That settlement, along with the punishments imposed in the Everton case, has increased clubs’ demands for the league’s response to the Manchester City case to reflect the number, duration and alleged impact of the breaches on financial competition rules.
The Premier League therefore faces an unprecedented test in formulating its request for a punishment, amid pressure from clubs that believe relegation for one season would not reflect the scale of the breaches and the independence of the commission, which has the final decision under the competition rules. The commission will hear the positions of the league and Manchester City before issuing the sanction, while the club continues its appeal against the guilty verdict and maintains its right to challenge any subsequent punishment.
