Manchester City could be hit with severe sanctions by the FA and the Premier League if they are found guilty of the financial charges levelled at them on Monday.
A bombshell statement from the Premier League detailed a four-year investigation charging City with numerous breaches of financial rules dating from 2009 to 2018. They relate to misleading reporting of their accounts, inappropriate manager and player payments, UEFA and FFP regulations.
If found guilty, City could be hit with a number of potential punishments ranging from hefty fines to a transfer embargo, a points deduction – or even expulsion in the most severe case. Not since 2009 has a top-flight side in England been docked points with Portsmouth deducted nine after entering administration, but the severity and nature of the charges on the table mean there is virtually no established guideline within the Premier League for what City could be hit with.
Under league regulation W51, the commission which will investigate has the power to recommend any number of sanctions as they see fit. But what will actually happen if they are found guilty? And where could it leave them in the table? Record Sport take a look at three recent examples which could shed some light.
Juventus 2023
They could find themselves looking to Italy where Juventus were docked points just last month after being found guilty by the Italian Football Federation of similar charges to those tabled at City. The FIGC said it had imposed a 15-point deduction for “financial irregularities” and “false accounting", stemming from allegations that the club inflated player values during transfers to boost its balance sheet.
In Juventus' case, they were docked 15 points which dropped them down to 13th in the table. Were City to be hit with a similar sanction, they would fall to eighth in the league – a point ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea and a massive TWENTY off leaders Arsenal.
Derby and Reading 2021
2021 saw two Championship sides hit with points deductions for financial breaches, the most severe of which was Derby who were docked a total of 21 – nine for rule breaches and the standard 12 for entering administration. Reading were placed under a transfer embargo in the summer for overspending and breaching EFL financial fair play rules and after the situation failed to improve, they were deducted six points.
In these cases, the focus was more on the amount of money lost. EFL rules state clubs can only report losses of £39m over a four-year period and both were believed to have haemorrhaged substantially more. It doesn't exactly match City's case, but the nine and six-point deductions handed out for financial breaches by the EFL could serve as a vague guideline for the Premier League.
They would not want to be seen taking a more lenient stance if City are found to be guilty of the damning charges on the table. A nine-point deduction would see City drop to sixth in the table while a six-point deduction would leave them fifth on goal difference. Either, though, would likely spell the end of their title hopes.
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