As we reported earlier, the Premier League charged Manchester City of allegedly breaching numerous financial rules, and the matter has already been referred to an independent commission that will proceed and come up with a final resolution.
If found guilty, these are some of the punishments the independent commission:
Suspend a club from playing league matches
The independent commission can suspend a club found guilty of one or all these breaches from playing Premier League matches in that season, for a period they deem necessary.
Points deduction
The club found guilty of financial rules breaches can have up to 15 points deducted from their season tally. This could take Manchester City from 2nd to 9th on the current Premier League table if this punishment was to be imposed today.
Matches replayed
The independent commission can also recommend to the Premier League board to have Manchester City replay the matches in the season where the violations took place.
Recommend to the board that league matches be replayed
Expulsion
The independent commission, if it finds Manchester City guilty, could also recommend to the Premier League board to have the club expelled from the league. This means immediate relegation. This could have adverse effects on the club, as some players could have clauses in their contracts where they have to be released if the club gets relegated unless such contracts are amended.
Cancel or refuse registration of players
The Premier League board could also cancel registered players from the seasons where the violations took place and refuse the registration of new players. This is a transfer ban and can run up to two years covering a span of four transfer windows.
Order the club to pay the costs
For a club with a financial muscle as big as Manchester City’s, this punishment would be a walkover, and rival fans think it would be too lenient. But yes, it is one of the punishments the independent commission could impose in case the club is found guilty.
Other punishments include ordering compensation, a conditional punishment, and any other order the commission may think is fit.
It is worth noting that the investigations have been going on since March 2019 and the breaches go as far back as the 2009/10 season so if and when found guilty, Manchester City could face some serious implications. It is also worth noting that the under the Premier League rules, the club will not be able to appeal any punishments to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) as they did when UEFA imposed a two-year transfer ban and successfully won in 2020.
