Premier League rivals are said to be split over what punishment should follow the findings against Manchester City, with opinions ranging from a severe sporting sanction to a ruling that would still allow the club to remain in the division.<\/p>\n
City could lose the three titles won during the period under scrutiny, from 2009 to 2018, although any punishment is expected to shape the present or future rather than rewrite the past. The matter now rests with an independent panel, while City prepare an appeal.<\/p>\n
According to The Guardian, after discussions with executives from rival clubs, there is a strong push for a penalty heavy enough to keep City out of the top flight for the foreseeable future. A straight relegation is not available in the normal sense, as the English Football League is a separate body and would not be bound to accept anything beyond the three clubs traditionally sent down. Even so, a significant points deduction could leave City anchored near the bottom of the table.<\/p>\n
Those quoted in the report do not want a sanction that feels temporary. Their concern is that a one-season absence would simply allow City to return and continue as before. One executive said: \u201cRelegation to the Championship for one season would be insufficient,\u201d one executive is quoted as saying. \u201cThe commission has to arrive at a punishment that is proportionate for years of sustained and deliberate cheating, as well as providing a strong deterrent to it happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The panel does have the power to remove City from the top flight altogether. Yet Sky Sports News reported that two senior executives from unnamed Premier League clubs would be \u201cstaggered\u201d and \u201camazed\u201d if enough clubs truly backed expulsion.<\/p>\n
Commercial concerns are central to that reluctance. City remain one of the league\u2019s biggest attractions, and their removal would create problems for scheduling and television rights. Fewer fixtures would mean reduced broadcast value, with possible refunds affecting money distributed across the division. \u201cIf Man City were expelled, that would have massive commercial consequences for everyone in the league, and ultimately it would cost the other clubs an awful lot of money,\u201d one executive said.<\/p>\n
The Independent Football Regulator, introduced in September 2025, is also watching closely. Its chair, David Kogan, said: \u201cThe independent commission\u2019s decision raises serious issues,\u201d Kogan said. \u201cThe IFR has powers to assess the suitability of owners, directors and executives and we will use these powers where appropriate, in the interests of protecting the sustainability, honesty and integrity of English football where there is clear evidence of wrongdoing by individuals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis includes taking account of findings made by the Leagues. However, as the proceedings remain ongoing between Manchester City and the Premier League we will await further developments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope it can be resolved quickly for the sake of fans. For now, we have no further comment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rival clubs are divided over what punishment Manchester City should face after the latest findings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238,172],"tags":[1458,59],"class_list":["post-21060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-city","category-epl","tag-championship","tag-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}