Literally dozens of violations over a 9 season span. I'm sure City will appeal and far from any guarantee of a significant punishment but...yowza.

BREAKING: Man City charged by Premier Leaue with numerous breaches of financial rules following a four-year investigation.
This is unprecedented: pic.twitter.com/ZGzdX210qP

— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) February 6, 2023

"Possible sanctions include a points deduction or even expulsion from the league."

I genuinely think nothing will happen to them. It will be up to an independent commission to decide. But still...hahahahahaha.

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https://instagr.am/p/CoUffp2scXu

Does the FA/PL have the balls to follow through with any real substantial action?

Liverpool are retroactive 2013-2014 league champs!

So how will this likely affect this season? As a Gunner part of me finds this funny but I'd rather (if we continue playing well) if we win the league it not be tarnished by our closest competitor being put in time out.

IDK, the investigation stops at '17-18 season, and I don't expect them to receive anything more than a fine or a transfer ban, so I wouldn't worry too much about any sort of asterisks you might see claimed by City supporters.

Thunder18 said:

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Does the FA/PL have the balls to follow through with any real substantial action?

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With Newcastle's purchase last year and rumors of sovereign investment of LFC and ManU this year, I wouldn't be surprised if they're finally ready to make a shot across the bow and preempt more of this behavior. Maybe Newcastle was already warned behind closed doors which is why they aren't going completely bananas like they could.

same same

jeffk said:

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IDK, the investigation stops at '17-18 season, and I don't expect them to receive anything more than a fine or a transfer ban, so I wouldn't worry too much about any sort of asterisks you might see claimed by City supporters.

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There are City supporters?

i'm not convinced the same user doesn't run both accounts.

jeffk said:

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Liverpool are retroactive 2013-2014 league champs!

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Gerrard's career would finally be complete.

*makes heart sign with hands and blows a kiss to my Stevie G poster*

Does the fact that it's "Just City" and not Liverpool, United or Arsenal matter. And the fact that they've been SO dominant? The whole "pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered?"

EPL will get its pound of flesh. Probably in the form of enough points to keep City from winning the league and enough money to keep the EPL front office happy.

Maybe. Man City had a history of bouncing between the top two levels on the pyramid before acquisition by the emirate of Abu Dhabi. They weren't a "blue blood" club -- so to speak.

I expect a hefty fine from the league but nothing more than that.

Mark me down for hefty fine and 10-15 points docked. I'm making the completely wild-ass guess that the league is looking to dock enough points to guarantee they can't win the league and try to keep them out of the Champions League.

To reiterate, that is a completely uneducated wild-ass guess.

ChipFTAC01 said:

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Does the fact that it's "Just City" and not Liverpool, United or Arsenal matter. And the fact that they've been SO dominant? The whole "pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered?"

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I think there's something to the "just city." And I think it's a key difference between comparing this situation to Barca. Barca has a massive, rabid fanbase both domestically and abroad. There are serious financial consequences for La Liga as a whole if Barca gets sanctions that are severe enough that they aren't there anymore. The bottom of La Liga is sheer and utter trash. Like worse than MLS trash. So you're swapping Barca for low budget trash. There may also be political consequences in Catalonia.

In the EPL, if City were removed it would likely get replaced with a quality club with a good fanbase/facilities. It might mean entertaining derbies are renewed, and so on. The overall entertainment value for the league may actually increase (although there is something to be said for having a villain). Most certainly the overwhelming majority of fans throughout England and around the world would be happy about it.

So financial consequences would be extremely low (other than legal fees for the inevitable lawsuits that follow). And it would send a clear message to future sovereign suitors to not screw around. So if they have a strong case to make, which reduces the lawsuit risk, I honestly don't see a good reason not to do this… other than the fact that massive bribes are probably being floated already. Which isn't a small factor… in fact I also won't be surprised at all if this just turns into a financial gain for the league (fines) and their leadership (bribes).

I mean Barca is owned by its supporters, so while their finances are a smoldering mess, they still have to abide by the same constraints as other non-state-run clubs.

Could this happen to PSG is a better thought experiment, I think.