Manchester City's Premier League rivals are reportedly split on whether the club should be expelled from the league after being found guilty of 114 of 115 charges surrounding breaches of financial rules. City strongly deny the charges and have lodged an appeal against the verdict.
Expulsion vote and club concerns
If that appeal is unsuccessful, they face the possibility of being expelled from the top flight. For that to happen, 15 of the Premier League clubs would have to vote in favour, but while some clubs are, others are cautious that it could lead to the resurrection of the European Super League (ESL).
City were one of the teams to join the ESL in 2021, but were the first to withdraw from the movement following backlash from fans. Other clubs soon followed, prompting the start of the end of the ESL. Expelling City from the Premier League is also reported to be described as 'commercial suicide' by executives from two top clubs.
Arguments for and against expulsion
The Telegraph claims there are also arguments from certain clubs that the Premier League is stronger with City's presence, and that its global standing would be significantly undermined without them. However, the same report also suggests that senior figures at certain clubs are keen to see City expelled entirely and barred from entering the EFL, alongside talk of a potential 200-point deduction spread across multiple seasons.
Expulsion from the Premier League represents one sanction that the independent commission could contemplate. Transfer bans, points deductions and financial penalties are also among the options.
City's defence and evidence
City were found guilty of all financially-related charges and face accusations of artificially inflating revenue by more than £900million through 'sham' sponsorship arrangements. The appeal will now have their case examined by a fresh independent panel of three, selected by the Premier League's judicial panel, to establish definitively whether any misconduct took place.
The former champions insist they possess 'irrefutable evidence' demonstrating the 'sham' deals were genuine and funded by the Abu Dhabi government, rather than by the club's owners in the Abu Dhabi United Group. The Premier League permits state-owned entities to sponsor clubs, which could assist in exonerating the club of any wrongdoing and establish that AGUD did not engineer illegitimate arrangements.
However, that assertion has already been called into question by previous statements made by title sponsors Etihad during a 2015 investigation. The state-owned airline of the United Arab Emirates told the United States Department of Commerce, Transportation, and State that reports of the government funding sponsorships were "false" during a probe into state-owned airlines.
A statement released at the time read: "We are government-owned and have been since our founding. We are and have always been clear that we do not receive any subsidies from the Abu Dhabi government, and that we are financed through a combination of equity, shareholder and commercial loans.
"Our shareholder's equity and loans are not subsidies under any applicable definition; they are the means by which the Abu Dhabi government has sensibly invested in a successful business model."
City's appeal statement
On Friday, City confirmed their appeal and said in a statement: "The Club's firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.
"The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. We will continue to respect due process and are necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete."
