A Man City points deduction could arrive much sooner than anyone expected. According to a new report, the Premier League is pushing for the punishment to be announced before the club’s appeal is decided.
Where the Case Stands
An independent commission found City guilty of breaking more than 100 Premier League regulations, including every rule on accurate financial reporting. The league’s stance is blunt: City’s success between 2009 and 2018 was built on “sham contracts,” “sham agreements” and “sham commercial deals.”
The charges were first brought in February 2023, and City have denied wrongdoing throughout. Even after the verdict, which the club called an “opinion” thanks to a “Premier League conspiracy theory”, they are still fighting for their reputation.
City’s Appeal
City have lodged an appeal built on a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence.” It is believed to rest on a large set of Abu Dhabi government documents. The argument is that the “artificially inflated” revenue was boosted by state funding, not by owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also vice president and deputy prime minister of the UAE.
The Timeline
Under new Premier League rules, a three-person panel must hear the appeal within 12 weeks of it being lodged. That deadline falls on Christmas Eve.
A verdict must then follow within 30 days, which takes the case into the third week of January.
City could argue that no deadline should apply, as these rules were introduced after the offending period.
Because of the delays and the legal limbo, the Premier League is reportedly “pressing” the commission to reveal the scale of the punishment before the appeal is settled, per the Daily Mail.
There is precedent. Everton were first docked 10 points in November 2023 for one uncontested breach, and that was later cut to six the following February. City are expected to face a far harsher penalty.
The Most Likely Punishment
The same Mail report says the “most likely” outcome is a “swingeing” Man City points deduction big enough to all but guarantee relegation. Opta’s supercomputer suggests that would take around 60 points, given how strongly Enzo Maresca’s side have started this season.
The punishment may not stop there:
Once in the second tier, City could face another points penalty to keep them out of the promotion places. The size is impossible to predict, and it would depend on the English Football League accepting Premier League involvement in its competition.
The club is also in line for a “huge” fine, though that is hardly their biggest problem.
Reportedly, no City player has a relegation clause in their contract. Even so, most of the star-studded squad would surely leave rather than face one or two seasons in the Championship.