Premier League clubs are applying pressure on the league to seek a punishment for Manchester City that would result in a prolonged absence from the top-flight, according to new reports.
Gianluigi Donnarumma and others in the Manchester City dressing room will have questions for the board.
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The commission's verdict - published in full on Tuesday after Manchester City successfully delayed its release through an appeal procedure - found the club guilty on 114 of the alleged 115 charges, covering a nine-season period between 2009/10 and 2017/18.
The panel determined that City had arranged sham commercial contracts with a number of sponsors across that period, with Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd funding the shortfall between what those partners actually paid and what the contracts recorded.
Parallel arrangements were used to reduce the club's recorded operating costs, with the commission concluding that the cumulative effect was to artificially inflate City's revenues and reduce their costs by more than £900 million.
The independent panel described the conduct as a "disguised funding scheme" involving "sham commercial deals" - language that has reinforced the view among rival clubs that the sanctions hearing must produce a punishment commensurate with what the commission itself characterised as sustained and deliberate misconduct.
Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued a statement in response to the club's guilty verdict issued by the top-flight this week.cityxtra.co.ukPep Guardiola Breaks Silence After Man City's Guilty Premier League Verdict
Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has issued a statement in response to the club's guilty verdict issued by the top-flight this week.
In their formal response to the Premier League's publication of the commission's findings, Manchester City stated that the opinion contained "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact" and that they would pursue every available appeal avenue.
The club has until Friday 2 October to submit that appeal, which will be heard by a newly convened independent panel.
Under new Premier League rules introduced this season, the appeal hearing must be concluded within 12 weeks of that deadline, with the panel given a further 30 days to deliver its judgment - placing a decision by the end of January 2027 as the target, assuming the process moves without further delay.
The sanctions hearing, which remains separate from the appeal, could run concurrently but will not be published until the appeal is resolved.
It is worth noting that City retain the right to contest any sanctions subsequently imposed, and sources indicate the club may also seek to argue that the Premier League's newly introduced expedited timescales should not apply to a case in which the underlying charges are historic - a challenge that, if successful, could extend the timeline further.
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As reported by Guardian Sport, executives at a number of Premier League clubs have made clear to the league that a points deduction resulting in a single-season relegation to the EFL Championship would fall well short of what the scale of the commission's findings warrants.
The view articulated by those sources is that any punishment must be proportionate to the duration and nature of the conduct found proven. "The commission has to arrive at a punishment that is proportionate for years of sustained and deliberate cheating, as well as providing a strong deterrent to it happening again," one club source told the Guardian.
The closest available precedent offers a limited guide to how the commission might approach the sanctions phase. When Everton became the first club to be sanctioned under the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) three years ago - for a £19.5 million overspend - the league pushed for a 12-point deduction and the commission imposed ten, subsequently reduced to six on appeal.
Burnley were awarded £35 million at arbitration after suing Everton on the basis that those breaches contributed to their own relegation at the end of the 2021/22 season, a ruling that has established a precedent for compensation claims following regulatory offences.
Many of the clubs pressing for a severe sanction against City are also aware that the Burnley ruling strengthens their own legal footing. Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool all reserved their rights to sue City two years ago in the event of a guilty verdict, and have already held informal discussions about whether to pursue claims now that the judgment has been published.
Enzo Maresca's side return to Premier League action on October 11 at Anfield to face Liverpool, three days before welcoming UEFA Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain to the Etihad Stadium.