Two senior executives at different top-level Premier League clubs have reportedly admitted they would be 'staggered' if 15 clubs voted to expel Manchester City from the league. The two high-profile figures believe expelling the club would be 'commercial suicide', according to Sky Sports.
On Tuesday, the Premier League announced that Manchester City had been found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of its financial regulations between 2009/10 and 2017/18. The charges included artificially inflating revenue by more than £900million through 'sham' sponsorship deals.
City deny wrongdoing and plan appeal
Manchester City have denied any wrongdoing and intend to appeal by the end of this week. The club believe they are "innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League" and say they have "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" to support their case.
Although City have been found guilty, the punishment is yet to be decided. Some have called for City to be relegated from the top-flight this season, while others feel an even harsher sporting punishment should be handed out to the eight-time Premier League winners. Points deductions, transfer bans and heavy fines have also been suggested as potential sanctions.
Commercial impact of expulsion
The two executives said they would be "staggered" and "amazed" if 15 clubs were prepared to vote to kick Manchester City out of the league, with such a move described as a potential "self-inflicted commercial disaster". Expulsion is one possible punishment the independent commission could consider, but if clubs voted against it, another sanction would be put in place instead.
Discussions remain ongoing between and within bosses of other Premier League clubs about how they would react to developments, with a number considering their own legal positions regarding a potential financial claim against City. Many rival clubs consider City such a key part of the commercial attraction of the Premier League, both in the UK and globally, that expelling them would cost a huge amount of revenue per season.
"If Man City were expelled, that would have massive commercial consequences for everyone in the league, and ultimately it would cost the other clubs an awful lot of money," one unnamed executive told Sky Sports.
Counter-feeling and Gary Neville's view
There is also a counter-feeling among some top clubs that City remaining in the Premier League would be damaging to the brand and integrity of the competition. An extended period outside the top flight for City would be needed to maintain the league's global image in the long term.
Gary Neville feels the only 'fair' punishment for City is for their billionaire owners to be removed. He said: "Manchester City will recover as a football club because Manchester City have been there longer than these owners, they'll be there long after them, and it's got an immense history."
"Points deductions, fines, transfer bans, removing the titles - not giving them to others, just removing the titles - it's significant punishments. The only punishment that would be fair would be have huge consequences - the biggest consequence - would be removing the owners."
"That is the only consequence if I was Manchester City that I would be worried about. And as a fan of Manchester City, if you wanted to keep the investment that you've currently got, that would be the one I'd be most concerned about."
