Manchester City are facing widespread calls to be stripped of titles after being found guilty of breaching financial rules on a vast scale. An independent commission has concluded that City "clearly intended to circumvent Premier League rules" by inflating revenue and hiding costs over a nine-season period. City continue to deny any wrongdoing and intend to appeal against the ruling.
The club was found to have engaged in an almost £1 billion scheme to inflate revenues and reduce costs through a series of "sham" arrangements. The eight-time Premier League champions face severe sanctions, including expulsion from the Premier League, a points deduction and a huge fine. They could also have their titles taken away.
Historical Precedents
Stripping silverware is not without historical precedent in world football. Here are five notable examples.
Juventus (2006)
The most recent example of a major club being stripped of titles was Juventus, whose 2004/05 and 2005/06 Serie A crowns were taken away over the 'Calciopoli' scandal. The Old Lady's general manager, Luciano Moggi, was found to have manipulated referees over an extended period, encouraging them to be favourable to his side and to card rivals' players so they would be suspended against Juve.
Moggi was banned from football for life, while the Turin club were booted down to Serie B. Juventus have never accepted the ruling and still count the '05 and '06 titles. Officially, '05 was left void while Inter Milan picked up the '06 crown.
Marseille (1993)
The French side's memorable 1992/93 campaign, which saw them win the European Cup and Ligue 1, was completely overshadowed after they were found guilty of match-fixing. Club president Bernard Tapie offered a bribe of around £30,000 to Valenciennes players Christophe Robert, Jorge Burrachaga and Jacques Glassman in return for them taking it easy against his side in a vital end-of-season game.
Valenciennes were duly beaten, only for Glassman to tip the referee off, having rejected Tapie's bribe. Marseille were stripped of the Ligue 1 title and relegated to Ligue 2. The '93 title was left blank after runners-up Paris Saint-Germain declined to accept it. Marseille kept the European trophy, though.
Senegal (2026)
Earlier this year, Senegal were stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations title following their chaotic victory over Morocco. At 0-0 in added time, Senegal left the field in protest at a disputed penalty awarded to their opponents. The walk-off led to a lengthy delay. When the game was belatedly restarted, Brahim Diaz saw his spot-kick saved by Edouard Mendy. Pape Gueye went on to score the winning goal for Senegal in extra time.
An appeal board of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) stripped Senegal of the crown and awarded it to Morocco, overturning their 1-0 win and imposing a 3-0 defeat instead. Senegal's appeal against the decision will be heard on October 8.
Elgin City (1993)
Elgin had the Highland League title taken away for a brazen attempt to circumvent suspension rules. They thought that by switching their final fixture against Forres Mechanics from Saturday to Friday, they could field players who would otherwise have been banned for the original date. Their defence of it being an unwitting mistake was undermined by the fact that player-manager John Teasdale was one of the suspended players. Runners-up Cove Rangers declined the title, meaning the league went without a winner.
Shanghai Shenhua (2003)
Shanghai Shenhua - once the home of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, and Carlos Tevez - were belatedly stripped of the 2003 title in 2011. They initially kept the title despite general manager Liu Shifang being found to have bribed a referee for a derby match. However, no champion was eventually declared when it emerged that Shanghai had tried to fix another game.
