Carragher calls for three-to-five-year ban as Man City appeal guilty verdict

Jamie Carragher has called for Manchester City to face a multi-year points deduction spanning three to five seasons, arguing that a single-season penalty would fail to reflect the scale of the club’s financial rule-breaking.

An independent commission last week found City guilty of breaching Premier League regulations, concluding that the club had inflated revenue by more than £830 million across nine seasons between 2009-10 and 2017-18. City have since lodged an appeal against the verdict.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, Carragher said a one-season points penalty — however large — would not be sufficient. “If the people talk about 80 points or 100 points, but that’s just over one season that gets you relegated and then you come back again,” the former Liverpool defender said. “I think, because this has gone on for so long, I do think the punishment should be over a number of years, three to five years, and then players would move on.”

The 48-year-old acknowledged that a single-season demotion might not deter key players from staying, adding: “I think players, a few of them would leave, but I think some of them would say, ‘I could put up with that for a year’.”

City’s next Premier League fixture takes them to Anfield on Sunday to face Liverpool — arguably their fiercest title rivals of the past 15 years — with the guilty verdict adding further edge to an already charged occasion. Former City defender and manager Stuart Pearce believes the atmosphere will test Enzo Maresca’s side. “The opposition, they’ll be rolling their sleeves up,” Pearce said. “It’s unbelievable it happens to be Liverpool this weekend. It’s going to be electric. It’s got to stimulate City against everyone else.”

City arrive at Anfield having won all five of their Premier League matches this season, sitting three points clear of defending champions Arsenal at the summit. Liverpool, meanwhile, are yet to lose under Andoni Iraola, who replaced Arne Slot in the summer.