Manchester City, Etihad Stadium
Manchester City, Etihad Stadium
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes it would be "dangerous" if Premier League clubs voted to expel Manchester City from the top flight.
City are under the microscope after a guilty verdict was handed down by the Premier League's independent commission over 115 charges of financial breaches.
The Etihad outfit have appealed the decision, with the process likely to take up to 12 weeks to conclude, with the rest of the footballing world waiting to see what sanctions are placed on the club, pending the outcome of the appeal.
City have been found guilty of all 115 charges against them, dating from 2009 to 2018, with the Premier League verdict saying that the club "arranged ‘sham’ contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on ‘sham’ agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs".
GIVEMESPORT's Market Madness podcast this week was a special, dedicated to City and the guilty verdict, with Sky News' Rob Harris and Maguire opening up on the magnitude of the Premier League's decision.
Sanctions for City could range from fines and points deductions to expulsion from the Premier League, with Maguire delivering his prediction on what City could be faced with.
He also said that while expulsion is a possibility, it would be "unusual" for it to happen.
He said: "I think it would be a very unusual vote. We did see Bury get expelled from League Two some time ago but I think that the other clubs would have to bear in mind that Manchester City would probably take legal redress and that could prove to be very expensive if they are expelled without the verdict being held and without the appeal. So it's a dangerous route to go down, but the weight of feeling does vary from club to club.
"Certainly some of the other elite clubs are very unhappy with the delay in the situation because they feel it has an impact upon their ability to qualify for the Champions League. I think some of the more mid-tier clubs who don't see Manchester City as a threat, their main concern is, is this going to further increase the already sky-high legal costs that have been incurred by the Premier League and and they don't want any part of it. So, they want a quick resolution and then they can get on with the rest of their season and focus on their own clubs."
Man City corner flag
Man City corner flag