Manchester City seem set to discover the outcome of last year’s hearing into its 100+ charges of alleged Premier League financial rule breaches over the coming months.
Manchester City are said to effectively face a probable Premier League relegation if they are found guilty of their alleged financial rule breaches.
Doing so would appear to make an example out of City to deter other clubs. However, any suggestions that the English Football League would refuse to accept City into either Championship, League One or League Two appear unlikely according to the league’s rulebook.
In what is purportedly the most likely outcome of a points deduction, it is said they would probably receive a penalty around six times as severe as Everton ‘s initial punishment for breaching profitability and sustainability rules.
These claims come from football finance expert Kieran Maguire on episode four of the Football on Trial: The Manchester City Charges podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. “A points deduction would be the most likely outcome should the club be found guilty,” Maguire said.
“As for the quantum of points deduction, if Everton were initially given a 10 points deduction for going around about £10/12 million over the limits in one particular season, I think, in order to set an example to the rest of football, it’s got to act as a deterrent.
“We’ll probably be looking at somewhere in the region of 60 to 100 points, which would effectively guarantee relegation out of the Premier League and into the lower tiers of football in the EFL.”
Maguire also acknowledged that it appears City would have to be accepted by the EFL. “There has been a suggestion that the EFL might refuse to accept Manchester City in terms of its competition, but looking at their rulebook, I don’t think that is feasible,” he clarified.
However, as David Ornstein claimed on NBC Sports before City lost to Liverpool, they believe their maximum punishment would be a fine amid their confidence in being exonerated and proven innocent.
