Manchester City have been warned to expect a massive points deduction as the bare minimum after being found guilty of breaking Premier League financial rules. The independent commission found the club guilty on all but one of the 115 charges against them, including arranging "sham" contracts with commercial partners to disguise over £830million in secret funding.
Commission finds 'concerted efforts' to frustrate process
The commission also found that City failed to cooperate to the fullest extent, instead making "concerted efforts to stop and frustrate" the investigation. The club have denied any wrongdoing and have appealed the result, calling it an "opinion", while claiming they have a body of "irrefutable evidence" that will prove their innocence.
If the appeal fails, potential punishments include a fine, points deduction, expulsion from the Premier League and stripping of titles won between 2009 and 2018.
Heskey: 'Huge points deduction is the bare minimum'
Former England international Emile Heskey believes anything less than a significant points deduction will be an injustice. Speaking to Express Sport on behalf of Casinolyze, Heskey said: "The punishment should be huge, especially given how long this has gone on for. The reality is, if you asked everyone to be honest with themselves, they're not shocked by this, are they?"
He added: "Having said that, the amount and the magnitude of it is significant. Where will they end up, is it League Two? Is it the National League? It's going to be interesting and a huge points deduction is the bare minimum, then I wonder where it will end because clubs will say they got relegated on the back of it."
Rival clubs could pursue compensation
Heskey also suggested rival Premier League teams could take matters into their own hands over potential losses of earnings. He said: "Clubs will say they could've had Europe. Players will say they missed out on bonuses or had their salaries cut. This could go on for years."
It has already been reported that Manchester United have internally evaluated the financial consequences stemming from the City scandal. United players could potentially have grounds for compensation claims after being denied Champions League qualification and league titles during the period City are accused of breaching regulations. Playing staff typically see their weekly salaries cut by 25 per cent when failing to qualify for UEFA's most profitable competition, which for the majority of players is believed to amount to millions of pounds.
