Manchester City reportedly face being ‘expelled from all competitions’, not just the Premier League, if they are found guilty of breaking financial rules.
The hearing into Manchester City’s 115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules began on Monday with the club accused of financial impropriety spanning nine years from 2009.
The League charged City with a failure to provide accurate financial information and a failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments.
An investigation was sparked by German outlet Der Spiegel publishing Football Leaks documents in 2018 and City stand accused of funnelling money from the club’s owners through sponsors in the United Arab Emirates.
Many thought the sternest punishment lying in wait would be relegation, with points deductions and fines also potential penalties, but it has now been claimed, as per The Telegraph, that they could be kicked out of every tournament they compete in.
Manchester City reportedly face being ‘expelled from all competitions’, not just the Premier League , if they are found guilty of breaking financial rules
Clause 31 of FA Cup rules states: ‘Where a club has been admitted to participate in the competition but is then removed from the league in which it competes (or its league fixtures are suspended), the Professional Game Board may remove the club from the competition’
To make matters worse their involvement in the Champions League, should they be found guilty of rule breaches, seems far from assured
It has previously been reported that most Premier League sides would not accept a one-off points deduction if City were found guilty, with many demanding an eviction from the division.
Now a look into the rules of English football’s two domestic tournaments has shown that their future participation in these competitions could be in doubt.
Clause 31 of the FA Cup rules states: ‘Where a club has been admitted to participate in the competition but is then removed from the league in which it competes (or its league fixtures are suspended), the Professional Game Board [PGB] may remove the club from the competition.’
The PGB consists of representatives from the Premier League and English Football League.
EFL Cup rules similarly define participating clubs as ‘each member from time to time of the league and each member from time to time of the Premier League’.
To make matters worse their involvement in the Champions League, should they be found guilty of rule breaches, seems far from assured – although the competition’s rules are slightly more complicated.
Sides need a Uefa club licence in order to take part in the tournament and the Premier League, Uefa, and the FA all have a voice in the administration of these licences.
As for Fifa’s expanded Club World Cup, starting this summer, regulations do not seem to be publicly available – but involvement in either that competition or the Champions League would be tricky if they were kicked out of domestic football entirely.
EFL Cup rules similarly define participating clubs as ‘each member from time to time of the league and each member from time to time of the Premier League’
City have won all five trophies at various stages over a successful few years at the Etihad
Manchester City became the first team in Premier League history to win four titles on the bounce last term
City deny wrongdoing and are defending their case at an independent inquiry.
City won the Premier League three times between 2009 and 2018, lifting the top division title in 2012, 2014 and 2018.
They are on a four-season league-winning streak, while they are also looking to regain the Champions League after winning it in the 2022-23 season.