Man City FFP: ‘Real chance’ of ‘football oblivion’ as club CEO prepares for years of fight ahead
The Premier League are pushing to relegate Manchester City as well as meting out two more very sizeable punishments as a result of their guilty verdict on 114 charges of breaching financial fair play, a leading journalist has claimed.
Last week, it emerged that City had been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges against them after a long-standing investigation, though no punishment has been handed out, as of yet.
Indeed, before any final verdict arrives, City will go through an appeals process after insisting from the very beginning that they are innocent and have done nothing wrong.
As a result, a leading sports lawyer exclusively told TEAMtalk on Monday that the club can expect to land a hefty points punishment, with 35 of those charges relating to an alleged failure to cooperate with the Premier League investigations between December 2018 and February 2023.
However, journalist Ben Jacobs believes sanctions could hit even harder than that and claims that the Premier League “have been pushing” for the club to receive the most severe punishment of all.
“My understanding is the Premier League have been pushing for a significant, a record, a ground-breaking, a severe points deduction, and even having Manchester City relegated,” Jacobs told talkSPORT in an article entitled, Man City in danger of football oblivion.
“I can also exclusively tell you that if Manchester City are kicked out of the Premier League, the EFL plan to read the verdict, and they are willing, in solidarity, to back the Premier League position and try to keep Manchester City out of the EFL as well.
“So there’s a danger in a doomsday scenario that Manchester City could be kicked out of football altogether.
“All three of those punishments can be given, and I think there is a real chance they will…”
Those claims have since been backed up by Football Insider, with a source revealing that the Premier League are “ready” to hand Man City three punishments, with relegation, a points deduction and a massive fine.
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Man City chief executive warns fight could take years to settle
With Manchester City determined to clear their name and insisting they have done nothing wrong, Sky News has reported that the club’s chief executive, Ferran Soriano, has told a meeting that their fight against the Premier League could take ‘years to conclude’.
While he declined to speak to Sky News, their sources from inside the private meeting of the executive board of the European Football Clubs’ body in Copenhagen, it is reported that Soriano openly referenced the case against City, though without directly discussing the Premier League’s guilty verdict against them.
And while referencing how it had taken the Premier League eight years to reach its conclusion and its guilty verdict, it’s claimed he said that he expects it will take a lot longer for the case to reach a full conclusion.
That’s because it’s claimed that City are planning a robust case against the guilty charges – first brought against the club in February 2023 – with the club holding the right to appeal.
With that now expected to officially begin in due course, a separate process is underway to discuss the imposition of potential sanctions.
And while it’s claimed that Soriano has acknowledged the Premier League’s guilty verdict on those 114 charges, it’s reported that the City chief has alluded to the appeal and sanctioning process to come in statements.
