Manchester City are facing a significant points deduction according to talkSPORT presenter Alan Brazil. The FA Cup and Carabao Cup holders return to domestic action this weekend for the first time since last week’s announcement the club had been found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules over a nine-season period.
City have appealed the verdict and strenuously deny any wrongdoing, but could still learn their fate before their defence is heard by the independent panel. According to Brazil, City are looking at a 60 point deduction which would leave them facing an uphill battle to preserve their top flight status despite having won their opening five matches of the new campaign.
Brazil’s claim
‘This might just be nonsense but two different sources have told met his,’ said the Breakfast Show presenter. ‘We’re talking about what’s going to happen here and I’m saying I don’t know.
‘But I’ll tell you what I’ve heard and people can shoot me down in flames and it might be nonsense so I’m not saying I got it first, none of that rubbish.
‘I’m hearing a 60 point deduction which will please people and still give City a chance of surviving. I don’t know if it’s this season, I can’t see how it’d be this season because by the time they get it through it will be too late.
‘Is it next season? But they’re talking about 60 points from two different sources grouping back to Manchester.’
Timeline of allegations
November 2018: German newspaper Der Spiegel publish claims Manchester City have breached FFP rules. March 2019: UEFA launch investigation into the claims. May 2019: Manchester City launch an appeal against the investigation. November 2019: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rules the appeal as inadmissible. February 2020: Manchester City are handed a two-year ban from European competition and a €30m fine by UEFA. July 2020: The ban is overturned after the club appeal to CAS. April 2022: Der Spiegel report the Premier League has been investigating Manchester City for three years. February 2023: The Premier League charges the club with 115 breaches of its financial rules. September 2024: Start of a 10-week hearing between the Premier League and Manchester City. September 2026: Reports emerge that Manchester City have been found guilty on all but one of the 115 financial rules the club are accused of breaking.
Reaction and referee news
Brazil then asked co-host Ally McCoist whether or not such a punishment would fit the crimes City have been accused of. The former Rangers striker said: ‘I think off the top of my head, a lot of people wouldn’t think that’s enough.
‘We have to wait and see how this appeal goes and I don’t know what the grounds are. If they didn’t win I think people would be looking for a stronger one than that.’
Chris Kavanagh, meanwhile, has been selected to referee the much-anticipated Premier League clash between Liverpool and City on Sunday. Kavanagh was stood down earlier this year after a series of errors in an FA Cup tie between Aston Villa and Newcastle, where VAR was not in operation. At the end of last year he joined Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor – who has since retired – on the elite list of UEFA referees from England. Assisting Kavanagh at Anfield will be Nick Greenhalgh, who was also stood down after the Villa v Newcastle tie. Meanwhile, Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus have still not returned to Premier League duty after being stood down following their high-profile error as VAR and assistant VAR respectively in the Manchester derby on September 13 in the fourth round of matches. They awarded a goal to City striker Erling Haaland, despite his team-mate Enzo Fernandez being offside and interfering with play.
