As Arsene Wenger once said: “I think this is a deep question, sport is to win by respecting the rules, that’s what it is all about. We celebrate the best in every sport, but we want to know that they respect the rules.
“If there is no respect for the rules, then it is not real sport so I think that is what’s most important, the rules exist so you have to respect them. Once you go into a competition, you sign in by agreeing to accept the rules.”
by Dan Smith
Media outlets are reporting that the consensus among Prem clubs is they want Man City to be relegated If found guilty of the charges for over 100 financial breaches.
The Champions maintain their innocence and surprise of the 4 years investigation outcome, maintaining the evidence provided is irrefutable.
Owned by a man worth 21 Billion, Sheikh Mansour will pay for the best lawyers in the world to challenge every part of this process, find any loophole imaginable and find any law possible to fight any guilty charge.
Sources from the Etihad have already started making accusations regarding the timing of these findings, with the government due to release a report of football governance next month.
The Premier League are under pressure to prove they don’t require an independent regulator to keep English Football under control.
Politically, what better way to prove that than show you are putting the Champions under scrutiny?
City would ask that if consequences are extreme, why did QPR and Bournemouth only get fines when they committed similar breaches?
They could legally argue they are being victimised and make their own case.
If found guilty do those in power have the convictions to really relegate one of the richest club’s in the world?
Are they prepared to fight against the resources at the accused disposal?
How worried are Man City?
Did they act already knowing they can get away with rule breaking with a simple fine?
Off record, is there a price to make this all go away?
Here are my least to most likely consequences if the panel find City guilty …….
Relegation?
Of course the rest of the division want a world without Man City (even if it were for one season).
The club have dominated English Football for years so them not being a competitor increases their peers chances of landing a title, earning a place in Europe, etc.
Yet, would the Prem hurt their own brand for the sake of morality?
The English Prem is one of Britain’s most successful brands sold overseas.
Why do you think the Prime Minister and future King got involved the moment it was in jeopardy when the Super League was a possibility?
No, not for fans, but they didn’t want anything to jeopardize a cash cow.
It’s harder to promote England having the best League in the world if your relegating your champions and essentially admitting that title races since 2008 have been based on corruption.
It’s not going to get broadcasters or advertisers to pay any more is it?
The Prem are no different to FIFA or UEFA, they will make a decision which financially suits them.
Hurting their own product does the opposite.
Titles stripped?
Reports in the media vary ….
Some stress that City would be punished for the time frame looked into (up to 2018).
Others maintain any sanctions will come into effect the moment the case is concluded.
It’s believed at the moment there isn’t pressure from a Liverpool, Man United, Chelsea, etc, for trophies to be stripped.
While it would hurt Man City fans, it’s not really special for rivals to be rewarded silverware years after the event.
It’s not like they have an iconic moment to look back on.
Once competitions are decided due to events off the pitch, that competition loses its innocence.
Again, it would hurt the image of the Prem which would be self-inflicting damage by those in charge.
How can you promote your League as the best in the world while asking for moments like ‘Aguero’ to be pretended never happened?
Points Deduction?
This is where paying for the best legal team in the world will help.
Lawyers on the pay roll to make sure any sanctions on the pitch are the worst case scenario.
Once established the time period, a points deductions can be implemented (and some say it can’t be backdated) City will time this to their advantage.
If found guilty, they can appeal to another panel, all of which will takes months to happen.
It suits City, for example, to have taken 15 points off them next season compared to this one.
If it happens this campaign, it cost them their title, next year, they could still start minus 15 and qualify for Europe.
This could be the happy medium.
A harsh enough punishment to act as deterrent to the rest, but long term not harming the brand.
A punishment that only hurts City in the short term, but protects what they have built and keeps them an ongoing force.
City Stop Spending Silly Money
In a world where everyone talks off record, a compromise could be reached.
One of those could be that City pay a sum to make this go away but agree to an unofficial spending cap.
Guilty or not, every transfer fee and wage will be under scrutiny for the next few years.
Pep leaves
If any of the above happens I can see Pep Guardiola leaving.
He’s always maintained he’s been ensured by his employers that zero rules have been broken.
He already seems more passive aggressive than usual this season.
He’s often detailed the emotion it takes out of him to be the coach he is.
Hence why he needed a break from Barcelona and why another sabbatical wouldn’t be a shock.
The Spaniard might not directly use this saga as his direct reason for leaving but being the best manager in the world who can handpick his next job, he doesn’t need to taint his reputation .
Pep is not a Mourinho, with a mentality of win at all costs.
He believes you can be successful without any dark arts.
A Fine
This would anger most outside Manchester simply because any fine given, City can afford it and therefore it’s not too much of a punishment.
That doesn’t mean that FA won’t do it though.
Whisper it quietly, they don’t base their sanction criteria on what the average person in the street thinks.
If they did, we would have teams playing in empty stadiums by now due to the rise in racial abuse and crowd trouble
What were the ‘big 6’ punishment for trying to break away?
A fine they could easily afford.
The Prems not going to hurt its own brand by relegating champions and taking titles away.
We just had a World Cup in Qatar, so let’s get away from this idea that the FA has woken up and suddenly got concerned that there is too much money in the game ….
Dan
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I don’t want to jump the gun here, but City look guilty, and because it’s over such a long period (including up to the present day no doubt), the punishment has to severe.
I am big advocate of “innocent until proven guilty”, but City only beat recent similar UEFA charges due to them being time barred, and they still had to pay a 10 million pound fine.
No person/organisation pays a whopping fine if they’re innocent. In fact, it would be the exact opposite in this case given City’s financial might.
It is true that many have to accept a plea deal, or settle even when innocent, thus looking guilty in some eyes, as they may not have the resources to continue litigation, but we all know this is not the case for City. Why pay a huge fine, and why not sue for defamation if you’re innocent then?
Although a points deduction would virtually hand us the title, I don’t want that as all our rivals will banter us for not winning it in our own right.
I would love to see them thrown out the league!
I’m sure that any points deductions would not take place mid-season, but at the beginning of the next season. In any case, this is going to drag on for some time yet.
Cheating is cheating, if proven then relegation to English Football League 2 (Tier 4). Fine equivalent of how much money they cheated with- shared equally between all 7 tiers of English football ( Prem clubs can donate their share to be split between the lower divisions would be a nice gesture). Stripping titles doesn’t make sense to me, what’s happened has happened and I wouldn’t be happy if we where rewarded retrospectivly- not sure how others would feel?
Dan, this is not going to be resolved this season or next, but most likely in 3 or 4 years’ time, so the points deductions or relegation is not yet an issue, and the football league clubs are under no obligation to accept City if they’re thrown out, so I would guess a points deduction and massive fine if found guilty would be the most likely outcome.
Also, the comparisons with QPR & Bournemouth are irrelevant as the offenses are completely incomparable.
Like you Jax, I suspect legal proceedings are !likely to drag on for years and until a Court ruling is made, any.sanctions to be imposed by the Premier League are likely to be limited and relatively minor.An embargo on transfer dealings would seem to be appropriate until a full legal determination has been made?
Dan, one iconic moment I can remember is the stoppage time winner against QPR and pipping their noisy neighbours to the title.
I really do believe that the PL have to take into account the fans at City, if / when they are found guilty.
From the scenarios you have given in your article, there are two that could be applied.
1. A massive monetary fine, that would be spread out equally amongst every club that played in the PL during the seasons under question (the likes of Derby for instance would qualify).
I’m talking about eight figure amounts for the damage this has caused other clubs and would, most certainly, be a deterrent for any other club who finds themselves being bought over by oil barons (United anyone?).
2. A point deduction in excess of any other football club in the country, oming into effect the season that they are found guilty…. if they are found guilty.
Point 1 would not affect the fanbase, who are totally innocent of any wrongdoing and would not come out of their pockets.
Point 2 would allow the supporters to follow their team and allow them to get behind City from the very first game, knowing the situation.
I’m trying to look at it from the point of view of if it was us, The Arsenal, who had been found in this position and not as a judge and jury wanting to kick out a club with a, until now, unblemished history… unlike their noisy neighbours who got off so easily versus Luton Town many years ago.
KEN Some interesting thoughts, though should they happen as you outline, their fans will still be affected by anything that hurts their team .
I can see it would not affect the fans personal finances and that would be all to the good.
But fans, everywhere, would gladly give all they have in money, IF it meant their team won the title.
THEREFORE ,IPSO FACTO, ANYTHING THAT HURT THEIR TEAMS CHANCES WOULD ALSO HURT FANS.
This would apply to fans of all teams, were they in the same position.
Jon, I think their hurting now, as suspicion mounts.
I wonder if how the powers to be will act if the rumoured manure takeover gathers strength?
ken Just minutes ago I saw on Sky Sports a regular reporter say that proposed takeove is very far from certain, at least about the Qataris.His view is that they would in any case offer only around HALF what Glazers want, ie that being around 3 mill and not much more at all.
He said the GLAZERS WOULD PROBABLY NOT ACCEPT THAT. Seems to me , that like many things people are rushing ahead and accepting a mere expression of interest as a “done deal” and it is far from being done at all.
As for City, LIKE YOU AND LIKE OTHERS TOO, I do feel sympathy for City’s fans but I SO LOATHE all those ghastly owners stand for that I WOULD GLADLY SEE CITY PUNISHED AS HEAVILY AS POSSIBLE.
There is no way any punishment of substance would not also hurt their fans and that is the sad reality. But if they are guilty as they seem to be, then they deserve to be punished and heavily.
I think it likely that it will be only point deductions, probably for more than one season, PLUS a huge but irrelevant fine. And years from now anyway.
Hello Ken.
No one wants fans of a club in default of the rules to suffer, However this I believe is a totally different scenario from the usual type of wrong doing i.e playing an unregistered player. Failing to control fans and or plaayers Etc.
As you know Man C are an outlet of an international company.
Man C broke the rules and were brought to court by Uefa. The company managed to drag out the legal process for four years and escaped punishment.
The company that own Man C will I am sure seek to repeat their actions. Therefore the company we know as Man C will continue playing in the league until – who knows when?
The fans of the other clubs are the ones who have suffered as a result of the misdemeanours which the EPL clearly knew about and did nothing about it(as with the PGMOL).
When someone In companies or organisations is accused of a serious offence it can happen that the employee is suspended while an investigation is in process.
To stop Man C drag, drag, dragging the case against them. they should be suspended while the investigation is a legal one.
This action will surely encourage them to settle quickly in order to return to normal as quickly as possible. True this will hurt Man C fans.
I believe the fans of the clubs that have been cheated on are the ones who have suffered the most. It is time to take them into consideration.
Byy the way Dan, isn’t it justice to see Arsene Wenger’s thoughts come to fruition, just as he was so correct about the “super league”?!?!
I MUCH LIKE THE UNDOUBTED FACT THAT BY SHOWING HIS DETAILED THOUGHTS ON THIS MATTER, Dan has certainly given deep and real thought to the outcome I LIKE THAT.
Broadly speaking I agree with his reasoning and, like many other Gooners, I THINK IT EXTREMELY UNLIKELY THAT CITY WILL BE RELEGATED OR PREVIOUS TITLES EXPUNGED.
First though , they need to befound guilty and though I am convinced thy will be found guilty on many of these charges and points deductions , possibly for ,two or three seasons might well be the outcome, it is going to take years , not months until, that happens.
MEANWHILE THIS STORY WILL RUN AND RUN AND RUN.
ANOTHER OZIL LIKE SAGA THAT WILL GO ON FOR YEARS ON JA, EVEN WHEN FINALLY OVER. You have been warned!