Manchester United Supporters' Trust calls Man City verdict 'industrialised cheating' and demands relegation

The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) has called on the Premier League to impose severe sanctions on Manchester City following reports that the club were found guilty of 114 out of 115 financial charges brought against them, describing the alleged conduct as “industrialised cheating on an unprecedented scale.”

The verdict, which emerged on Friday, sent shockwaves through English football. City have indicated they will appeal, and no sanctions have yet been determined, but the findings have already prompted strong reactions from supporters of clubs who finished as runners-up to City during the period under scrutiny.

In a formal statement, MUST acknowledged City’s right to appeal but made clear that, if the findings are upheld, the punishment must go far beyond a points deduction. “This cannot be dismissed as an accounting error or an accidental breach of complex rules,” the statement read. “It would amount to industrialised cheating on an unprecedented scale.”

The trust drew a pointed distinction between two forms of damaging ownership in football — debt-loading, which they associated with the Glazer family’s tenure at Old Trafford, and what they described as “financial doping” by owners using external wealth to circumvent rules designed to protect fair competition.

“If industrial-scale cheating helped create that advantage, one season outside the Premier League would plainly leave much of that benefit intact,” MUST argued, suggesting that relegation alone may be insufficient. “The punishment therefore has to remove the advantage gained, not simply impose a temporary inconvenience.”

The statement also raised questions about title redistribution, noting that stripping honours won during the relevant period “may form part” of any appropriate sanction, though MUST stressed that the more pressing issue is what structural consequences follow.

Experts have widely predicted that a points deduction represents the minimum likely outcome if City’s appeal fails, though the scale and nature of the breach — spanning years and covering the vast majority of charges — has led some to argue that more drastic measures are warranted. City have consistently maintained they have done nothing wrong throughout the three-year investigation.