MANCHESTER CITY should absolutely have the book thrown at them for their part in the biggest scandal in football history.
But the Premier League must be careful not to set itself back 15 years by booting City out and letting another league steal the top spot – the same way .
There’s no denying that what the Etihad club have been accused of is a monumental level of cheating, which leaves me questioning every side I played against.
The teams I faced are some of the best I have ever seen.
But now you have to ask whether they were simply built on years of financial doping.
For that reason, chiefs need to lay down a marker and scare any team from being able to do anything like this again.
Especially before we start sending a message to young fans that they can do what they want as long as they have the money to fund it.
However, it is a fine balancing act between laying down the law and throwing away years of growth that have made the Premier League the best division in the world.
When I was growing up I used to watch in awe of the quality of football, the competitive nature and – above all else – the star-studded squads.
Juventus’ of 2006 changed that and the Italian league is now far inferior to the English top flight.
were kicked out of Serie A and made to play in the second tier, while the reputation of Italian football was in the gutter and the league was set back 20 years.
If the Premier League is not careful, the same thing will happen over here.
Relegating City would mean a mass exodus of their players, since the club will surely be unwilling to sell them to their domestic rivals.
That can only strengthen the rest of Europe, paving the way for LaLiga or the Bundesliga to pip the Premier League to the throne as the best league.
Imagine losing Erling Haaland to Barcelona or Real Madrid.
The Norwegian has brought a to the Premier League after his World Cup exploits and they would surely follow him to Spain.
Serie A used to have stars like Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Diego Maradona, but that level has dropped significantly.
Now Juventus are giving minutes to players like , who – with all due respect – should never be able to represent a club of that stature after his time at Bournemouth and Newcastle.
LATEST: Man City GUILTY of Premier League breaches
- Man City launch
- and walk away for free
- Club facing from rivals
- to look into Mancini payments
- Khaldoon in the UK
Timeline: What happens next?
- October 2 – Deadline to submit appeal
- December 25 – Deadline for appeal to conclude (12 weeks after appeal is lodged)
- December 14-18 – Possible date for maximum five-day appeal hearing
- January 17 – Deadline for commission to produce final verdict
Too hefty a punishment could also see the Premier League lose its competitive edge – the very thing that makes it so attractive to players and viewers.
look miles ahead of the rest of the league with Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham all in periods of transition.
Mikel Arteta’s side could very well win five titles on the bounce and completely kill the competitive nature of the division.
I am sure that would be music to the ears of Arsenal fans but the truth is it would make the Premier League look more like Ligue 1.
It is Paris Saint-Germain’s persistent dominance in the French top-flight that sees the division labelled as a “farmers’ league”, we can’t have that reputation over here too.
from the Premier League or handing them such a hefty points deduction that relegation is inevitable seems like the wrong decision.
Instead I think they should be consigned to mid-table mediocrity by hitting them with a 30-point deduction for five consecutive seasons, as well as a three-year transfer ban and a mammoth fine.
That would kill their development and stop them from being able to compete for the league.
What are Man City charged with?
THE Premier League claim Man City hid £900m in 'sham' deals across a nine-year period.
They were found guilty on 114 of the initial 115 charges – with the number now up to 130 charges – which fit into six categories…
- Failing to give accurate financial information over sponsorship revenue, related parties and operating costs between 2009-10 and 2017/18. Total charges: 50
- Failing to provide full details of managerial remuneration between 2009/10 and 2012/13. Total charges 8
- Failing to provide full details of player remuneration between 2010/11 and 2015/16. Total charges 12
- Failing to comply with Uefa Licencing and Financial Fair Play regulations between 2013/14 and 2017/18. Total charges 5
- Breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability rules between 2015/16 and 2017/18. Total charges 25
- Failing to co-operate with the Premier League investigation between 2018/19 and 2022/23. Total charges 30
- Total charges: 130
Even qualification would be out of reach barring a repeat of Pep Guardiola’s centurion season.
We don’t need to mess about with retrospective punishments either, nobody should be asking for City’s titles to be handed to second place.
I was on the receiving end of a with Watford at the hands of City in the 2019 FA Cup final.
Those players earned that trophy and, even if there was some dodgy dealing going on above their paygrade, they beat us on the day fair and square.
We could have played that team another 70 times and we might have won once if we were lucky. That was the best City team I have ever seen.
What the players have done on the pitch can’t be taken away from them – that is what sport is all about.
We can go round in circles about what the best punishment should be and what is fair but the whole thing is a s***show from top to bottom with endless ramifications.
The most important thing is making sure that are punished but at the same time ensuring we don’t let this all ruin the product we have in the English game.
