Blackpool promotion winner has had his say on the saga surrounding Manchester City.
Blackpool legend Brett Ormerod believes it’s hard to determine an appropriate penalty for Manchester City - and possible compensation for other clubs - if they are punished for breaching Premier League financial regulations.
An independent commission concluded that City ‘clearly intended to circumvent’ rules by inflating revenue and hiding costs between 2009/10 and 2017/18.
The club has indicated an intention to appeal ahead of this Friday’s deadline for doing so.
If any appeal is unsuccessful, speculation has started on possible sanctions with fines, points deductions or expulsion from the Premier League all mooted.
The idea of reallocating trophies won by City in that nine-season spell has also been raised, along with the possibility of legal action from clubs directly affected by any rules breach.
A Sky Sports report this week showed that Blackpool would have technically avoided relegation from the Premier League in 2010/11 if City’s results were expunged.
The Seasiders finished second-bottom with 39 points, one off safety, but a recalculated table sees them out of the drop zone given they lost both league games to City that season.
Ormerod, who played in the 1-0 New Year’s Day defeat at the Etihad Stadium, said: “It’s upsetting in a way because they were a fantastic team.
“You can’t take anything away from what they have produced on the pitch, with one of the best managers in history (Pep Guardiola) who has done it everywhere he’s been.
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“I feel sorry for the fans, particularly, if it’s decided they have acquired those players through cheating.
“What is a suitable punishment though? Do you relegate them and, if so, which division do you put them in and what happens for promotion and relegation in that division?
“For us at Blackpool, players and club, it’s there in black and white: we would have stopped up with 39 points.
“That points total would have been enough to stay up for the next few years as well, but what would a suitable financial penalty be for those missed years?”