Man City FFP guilty verdict punishment tipped to be similar to Rangers – ‘throw the book at them’
Chris Waddle, Paul Lambert and Darren Bent have given their verdict on how Manchester City should be punished after being found guilty of FFP charges.
Man City have been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League over breaches of their financial rules.
TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, has reported that Man City are adamant that they are not guilty.
Sources have told us that Man City, who appointed Enzo Maresca as their manager in the summer following the departure of Pep Guardiola, plan to appeal against the verdict.
We also understand that Man City are talking to the Premier League to learn about the possible punishment.
One well-placed Premier League source at another club told TEAMtalk: “This is clearly a huge story, and fans everywhere will be clamouring and maybe expecting relegation and huge points deductions but from what we are hearing as a club, we are expecting a fine at this point.
“But we have to see how things play out.”
Former Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United star Chris Waddle believes that the Premier League should impose a point deduction on Man City.
Ex-Celtic midfielder Paul Lambert, who managed clubs such as Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers in England, thinks that Man City could face a similar punishment that was meted out to Rangers 14 years ago.
Rangers entered administration, and with other Scottish Premiership clubs voting against their reinstatement, the Gers had to start again from the bottom tier in Scotland in 2012.
Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent, too, reckons that Rangers are the benchmark.
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Bent told talkSPORT, as relayed by The Daily Record: “When you look at what happened to Juventus, when you look at what happened to Rangers – what did they go down, like four divisions?
“They are going to have to get relegated.
“They should be relegated to League Two, and a transfer ban for like five years, six years. It’s going to have to be. The Championship is not enough.”
Waddle said on Betpack: “I think you have to throw the book at them, if what is happening is true.
“It’s unacceptable to break the rules the way they have supposedly done, and therefore you have to be strong with them.
“You have to take serious action, in order to prevent other clubs from trying to do similar, and to make a statement.
“The problem is, if the punishment is just a fine, it doesn’t do anything.
“The club are so rich, that it’s difficult to hurt those owners in their pockets, so I think it needs to go beyond a fine.
“We’ve seen with other clubs who have been fined for other punishments, it hasn’t really impacted them.
“I like Manchester City.
“Like Newcastle, they have great fans, so I don’t want them to suffer, but they have to face the consequences.
“A points deduction for example would have a serious impact, so they should maybe look at that rather than just a fine.
“You have to take the punishment, as a fine will be a waste of time.”
Lambert told BOYLE Sports: “It’s really difficult what the ban is going to be set at I think.
“The authorities must work out whether it’s going to be a massive financial hit, deduction with points or relegation to the bottom league as with what happened to Rangers.
“But whatever happens, I think it’s going to snowball to a lot of clubs.”
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