Gary Neville calls for Man City owners to be removed as only fair punishment after guilty verdict

Gary Neville has called for Manchester City’s owners to be removed from the Premier League as the only punishment proportionate to the club’s guilty verdict on 114 of 115 financial charges, describing the situation as “chilling” for English football.

The Premier League issued its verdict this week after an independent panel examined allegations spanning a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018. City have maintained their innocence throughout the process and have until Friday, 2 October to lodge an appeal against the ruling.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, the former Manchester United and England defender argued that conventional sanctions — points deductions, fines, transfer embargoes or the removal of titles — would not go far enough given the scale of the breaches. “The only punishment that would be fair would have huge consequences — the biggest consequence — would be removing the owners,” Neville said. “That is the only consequence if I was Manchester City that I would be worried about.”

Neville was careful to distinguish between the club and its current custodians. “Manchester City will recover as a football club because Manchester City have been there longer than these owners, they’ll be there long after them, and it’s got an immense history,” he said, adding that any title removals should not result in trophies being redistributed to other clubs.

Drawing a comparison with Italian football’s Calciopoli scandal and its lasting damage to Serie A, Neville warned of the broader consequences of unchecked financial misconduct. “The Italian game has suffered immeasurably over the last 25 years,” he said. “This is chilling to listen to. What can be more serious than industrial-level financial doping that we’ve seen and they’ve been found guilty of?”

Speculation over the precise sanctions City will face remains widespread. Among the possibilities discussed by pundits and clubs are a substantial points deduction large enough to trigger relegation, significant fines, transfer restrictions, and the voiding of titles won during the period in question. City are widely expected to contest the verdict before any penalties are formally applied.