Premier League executives rule out direct expulsion as Man City's most likely punishment

Premier League club executives do not expect Manchester City to face direct expulsion from the top flight, even if the club’s appeal against a guilty verdict for 114 breaches of financial rules is unsuccessful, according to The Athletic.

City are contesting the ruling from a three-person independent panel, which found the club guilty of artificially inflating revenue through sponsorship deals funded by their own owners — a practice prohibited under Premier League financial regulations. City strongly deny the findings.

While the Premier League handbook allows for sanctions ranging from fines to points deductions and outright expulsion, several club executives believe expulsion is the least likely outcome. Under league rules, removing a club from the competition would require a vote in favour from at least 14 of the other member clubs — a threshold that insiders do not expect to be reached. Fines and points deductions, by contrast, can be imposed without such a vote.

One scenario under discussion is a points deduction large enough to effectively guarantee City’s relegation to the Championship, rather than a formal expulsion. However, that option carries its own complications. There are concerns within the league that a relegation-level deduction would damage competitive integrity, leaving City playing out matches with no meaningful stakes once the drop is mathematically confirmed.

The Championship itself has reservations about the prospect. Clubs in the second tier worry that City, with their financial resources, could return to the Premier League within a single season, occupying one of the promotion places that would otherwise go to a club competing on more conventional terms.

A third possibility, favoured by at least one Premier League executive, is a points deduction spread across multiple seasons. That approach would limit City’s ability to qualify for European competition over several years and carry sustained financial consequences without the blunt disruption of immediate relegation.

City head coach Enzo Maresca was asked about the prospect of managing the club in the Championship or even League One. “I won the Championship with Leicester,” he said. “So in case of League One, we’re going to see. We are thinking about something that we don’t know.”

The sanction, if City’s appeal fails, will be determined by the same three-person panel that delivered the original verdict, with the Premier League able to submit a recommendation on the appropriate penalty.