Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period, according to an independent Commission. The verdict, confirmed by the Premier League on Monday, covers charges relating to breaches between 2009-10 and 2017-18, with the majority of charges regarding the club's failure to co-operate with the League's investigation also upheld.
Bombshell reports on Friday first revealed the eight-time Premier League champions had been found guilty by an independent panel on all but one of the 115 charges. The news sent shockwaves through the sport and plunged English football into a crisis.
The Etihad Stadium outfit responded with a statement of their own, confirming they will "now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe."
Relegation to League Two proposed
ECHO columnist John Aldridge has already called for the Manchester club to be relegated and stripped of their titles. Now a collection of the ECHO's writers from both Everton and Liverpool coverage have had their say.
Joe Thomas, Everton FC correspondent, argues that Manchester City should be relegated to League Two. He suggests that stripping the club of titles would largely be a symbolic gesture, and that a sanction hitting the club over multiple years is required given the scale, scope and length of the timeframe of these charges.
Thomas believes placing City in the fourth tier would be a serious and prolonged punishment, and would benefit the entire football pyramid. He notes that City's absence from the top flight would allow those clubs most directly impacted to compete at the top, presenting new opportunities for teams to get into the Champions League and other European competitions, with the fun, prestige and economic boost that brings.
Transfer ban and compensation suggested
Theo Squires, Liverpool FC writer, points out that City will appeal the verdict, and probably any punishment they are initially handed too. He notes that clubs like Liverpool would benefit from extra trophies from the period 2009-2018, and that City cheating has seen them qualify for the Champions League and Europe countless times at others' expense - including Everton.
Squires suggests the book has to be thrown at them. "A big fine won't hurt them, but paying compensation to the various affected clubs would be a start," he says. "Then give them a transfer ban and ban them from the Champions League."
Expulsion and title stripping demanded
Richard Garnett, host of the Blood Red podcast, says the integrity and reputation of the Premier League are severely damaged by this outcome. He claims that English football has sold its soul to the highest bidder, and that there's no turning back.
Garnett argues that City should be stripped of their titles and expelled from the Premier League, with the club restarting in whichever league and division will take them. He dismisses fines and points deductions as a waste of time, but backs a redistribution of competition prize money. Whether the titles City are stripped of should be awarded to the respective runners-up is a matter for debate, he adds.
Garnett concludes: "What I do know is that this is a dark time for English football that leaves me seriously questioning what Premier League clubs are supposed to represent."
