Manchester City are braced for a heavy punishment from the Premier League after being found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges levelled at them back in February 2023. The club continue to deny any financial wrongdoing and insist they will clear their name.
The conversation has quickly shifted to the potential punishment. Could City be relegated and their owners forced to leave? How about a rolling points deduction and a transfer ban? Or might they get away with just a fine?
Swindon Town - 1990
Ten days after Swindon Town beat Sunderland 1-0 at Wembley to secure promotion to the old First Division, the club were found guilty of making illegal payments to players. Not only were Swindon stripped of promotion and replaced in the top flight by Sunderland, Ossie Ardiles' side were sent down to the third tier.
Tranmere Rovers were due to replace them in what's now known as the Championship, but following an appeal, Swindon's punishment was reduced to a one-division relegation.
Tottenham Hotspur - 1994
In 1994, Tottenham were fined £600,000, thrown out of the FA Cup and docked 12 points after being found guilty of making illegal payments to players under their previous ownership. With Alan Sugar now running the club, Spurs informed the FA themselves but were still dealt rough justice.
Upon appeal, however, Tottenham saw both their cup ban and points deduction overturned, although the fine was raised to £1.5million. Sugar said: "There are new rumours that people are at it again. Of course they are - it never stopped. They are more sophisticated these days. Gone are the brown paper bags and meetings on the motorway. Now you have scumbag agents who get slices of a transfer deal which they divide up with managers or club officials."
Luton Town - 2008
To this day, Luton Town's 30-point deduction remains the largest in English football history. Having initially been docked 10 points ahead of the 2008-09 season and fined £50,000, it was soon found that the Hatters had broke the EFL's rules by leaving administration without having made a Company Voluntary Arrangement with its creditors.
The Football League offered Luton the chance to continue playing in League Two on the condition that they were deducted a further 20 points. They appealed, but it was thrown out and Mick Harford's men were relegated to non-league for the first time in their history, finishing rock bottom of the table on 26 points.
Rangers - 2012
In July 2012, Rangers were denied entry into the Scottish Premier League due to the club's liquidation. A vote subsequently took place between the chairmen of Scottish Football League clubs to determine where Rangers would land. Twenty-five of the 30 clubs decided that it would be the fourth tier.
Fortunately for Rangers, who also received a 12-month transfer ban, they won back-to-back promotions before returning to the top flight in 2016.
Queens Park Rangers - 2018
QPR were ordered to pay a world-record £40m fine in 2017 after the club lost a three-year battle after being found guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play rules during the 2013-14 season when they were promoted back to the Premier League. The Rs would, though, reach a settlement with the EFL the following year, agreeing to pay £42m.
The settlement was made up of a £17m fine, the EFL's legal costs worth £3m and an agreement from club shareholders to write off £22m of outstanding loans. QPR, who'd argued that the existing FFP rules were unlawful, were also placed under a brief transfer embargo.
