City’s Premier League rivals reportedly believe a punishment resulting in just one season outside the top flight would not be sufficient following the independent commission’s guilty verdict.
Executives at several clubs have told The Guardian that a points deduction large enough to relegate City to the Championship for one campaign would not go far enough.
Rivals want severe Man City sanction
The report says several clubs want the Premier League to argue for a punishment that would result in a “prolonged absence” from the top flight. Those clubs don’t decide what punishment City receive. The Premier League and City can make submissions on the sanction before the independent commission reaches its decision.
No punishment has yet been determined. The Guardian reports that rival clubs also want the process concluded before the end of this season, with uncertainty over City’s eventual sanction having implications for both ends of the Premier League table.
City have until Friday to exercise their right of appeal against the commission’s findings. The appeal process will take place before any final outcome is known. The club reject the findings and have said their appeal will argue that the commission’s decision contains material errors of law, principle and fact.
For now, the views attributed to rival executives amount to pressure over the severity of the punishment rather than any indication of what the independent commission will ultimately decide.
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