Manchester City’s Premier League rivals have called for “huge” punishments to be handed down, telling The i Paper that a points deduction will not be enough for the scale of their wrongdoing.
Some are calling for relegation, a forced sale and lifetime bans for those at the centre of the club’s use of “sham sponsorships” over a nine-year period.
“It needs to be huge. I don’t think a points deduction is enough,” one executive told The i Paper.
Another official involved in the Premier League during the period in question said “a message needs to be sent – and that starts with relegation”, although there appears to be little appetite in the football world to strip City of their titles and reassign trophies.
“I think that is something that fans want but I’m not sure it’s practical or that the Premier League will go down that route. I don’t get a sense that there’s a big demand for that but there’s more details to come out so you couldn’t rule it out completely,” one official said.
City broke ‘well over 100’ regulations according to the statement (Photo: Getty)Everyone has an opinion on sanctions, and even senior figures at Premier League clubs can only speculate at this stage given the unprecedented scale of what City have been found guilty of.
The common assumption among sources spoken to by The i Paper is that, because of the scale, a huge points deduction is “inevitable”. Some believe a damaging points penalty will not be confined to one season.
After the Premier League’s comprehensive takedown, senior figures at other clubs were taken aback by the numbers involved, with many changing their view on what comes next.
“I think the general consensus is that a points deduction, no matter how big, is not enough,” a source close to senior figures at a top Premier League club told The i Paper.
“We know taking trophies off City will be very difficult, but there has to be some harsher punishment.
“Maybe expulsion from the Football League. A five-year transfer ban. Punishments to match the crime.”
The Sky Blues have until Friday to submit an appeal against the decision (Photo: Getty)There is a general acceptance that, in many ways, football will never be the same again. Laws will change, financial regulation could go into overdrive, while investment into the Premier League from overseas could dwindle rapidly.
Some have even suggested the rules governing club ownership must be transformed, just as they were after the Glazer family’s controversial Manchester United takeover 21 years ago.
“Leveraged buyouts, loading debt on the club, soon became a thing of the past. Now state-owned clubs must be banned for good, too,” an adviser working with Premier League clubs told The i Paper.
“City can argue they are not state-owned all they want, but we all know the truth. Their owner is vice-president of the UAE.
“This isn’t City’s fault, as a club, it could have happened to anyone. We need to make sure a state does not come in and do this again. No football fan deserves this happening to their club.”
Owner Sheikh Mansour faces calls to sell the club over this latest embarrassment (Photo: Getty)The breadth of City’s wrongdoing from 2009 to 2018 was revealed in a damning 40-page verdict issued by the independent commission that has spent more than two years deliberating on a case one senior figure told The i Paper was “the most important in sport that we will see in our lifetime”.
The current Premier League leaders have been found guilty of inflating their revenue by £900m through “disguised funding” that was labelled “sham”.
The extent of the wrongdoing – and City’s response that they will “relentlessly fight” the charges, which they believe are part of a “Premier League conspiracy” – has increased the frustration and anger of some of their rivals, who believe the delays and legal battles surrounding the case are highly damaging.
Legal action now feels inevitable, with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal already having got their ducks in a row to launch compensation claims when the case is finally concluded.
Tottenham’s claim alone could total £50m and there is a chance players and managers during the affected period could launch separate claims for bonuses they missed out on.
Some player contracts included provisions for a 25 per cent wage rise for qualifying for the Champions League. Spurs missed out three times during the period in which City were found to have engaged in the wrongdoing.
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Comment: Throw the book at Man City – and force the owners out Explainer: Nine key findings as Premier League releases damning Man City verdictThe i Paper revealed earlier this week that clubs other than those four are “considering their options” and “consulting with lawyers”.
While most appear braced for a messy and drawn-out next stage in the saga, there is at least some relief that the verdict leaves little ambiguity.
“I’m glad it has been as unequivocal as it has been. This case goes to the heart of industry and society. It is a global story and one that is only just beginning,” an executive said.
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