An independent panel has found Manchester City guilty of breaching 114 Premier League financial rules, with the club's appeal still pending
Erling Haaland celebrates for Man City
Erling Haaland celebrates for Man City
Peter Schmeichel and Jaap Stam have clashed over whether Manchester City should face relegation from the Premier League following their guilty verdict.
Should City's appeal against breaching 114 regulations prove unsuccessful, they could encounter severe penalties, with the Premier League urged to use them as a deterrent if the violations are upheld.
The removal of titles and expulsion from England's top division would represent the harshest possible punishment, with Schmeichel opposing both measures but arguing that four alternative major sanctions would be sufficient.
He said on Viaplay: "I think, of course, you keep them in the Premier League. But for every year they're in the Premier League, the next five years, they start on -25 points.
"It's also staying as a reminder to everybody else that when you cheat in the Premier League, and if you cheat all the other clubs, it's heavy. I think this is important: a transfer ban for five years and a big fine.
"And then I think the ownership should be forced to sell the club. I don't think they're fit to run this football club and they're not fit to run a football club in England.", reports the Manchester Evening News.
"Also, I think bans for everyone who has been in on this. They cannot operate in football. Take the titles away or let them keep the titles. I don't think it matters one way or the other."
Stam rejected that view, however, responding: "I think they need to strip them of the titles because they've been cheating in getting them.
"But I totally agree with Peter in that they need to get punished somehow. I think it's very important that the Premier League sets an example for everybody else that this is never going to happen again."
An independent panel found City guilty, and that same three-person commission will be responsible for determining the appropriate sanctions, though the Premier League retains the ability to put forward recommendations. It should be noted that the outcome of this case remains open to appeal.
Peter Schmeichel and Jaap Stam have issued a clear Manchester City punishment to the Premier League
Peter Schmeichel and Jaap Stam have issued a clear Manchester City punishment to the Premier League(Image: (Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images))
City returned to competitive football following the lengthy international break with an emphatic triumph at a raucous Anfield. Second-half strikes from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki sealed the victory, with the contest decisively altered by Ryan Gravenberch's red card shortly after the hour mark.
Elliot Anderson was arguably City's most impressive performer on the day, with Ruben Dias and Gianluigi Donnarumma also drawing admiring glances. Despite this, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville admitted he found it difficult to offer wholehearted praise given the ongoing case, with the points accumulated potentially rendered meaningless come the season's conclusion.
He said: "To come and win at Anfield is really difficult, we should be eulogising over them without a but or any hesitation, but there is that thing in the back of your mind.
"They have done a brilliant job here today. They have dominated the game in the last 20 minutes, from the red card onwards. They have dug in and I think players like [Gianluigi] Donnarumma, [Ruben] Dias and Anderson, in that first-half were excellent. They stood strong as a group.
"At the end of the game it is quite hard because you are imagining basically if these guilty verdicts are confirmed in January or February then Manchester City are not going to be in the position they are in and there is going to be a huge cloud hanging over the whole league."