Carragher calls for multi-year Man City punishment if appeal fails

Jamie Carragher believes City should face a punishment lasting several seasons if the findings against the club in their Premier League financial case are upheld on appeal.

An independent commission found against City on 114 of the 115 charges brought following the Premier League’s investigation into the club’s finances. City have lodged an appeal and continue to deny wrongdoing, saying the commission’s opinion contains “clear material errors, of law, principle and fact” and is unsafe.

Carragher has been among the most outspoken pundits since the findings were published, arguing that any eventual sanction should reflect the length of the period covered by the case.

As highlighted by the Daily Mirror, the former Liverpool defender had previously defended City’s achievements against suggestions that their success could simply be reduced to financial power, pointing to the quality of the players, recruitment and coaching behind it.

Jamie Carragher makes Man City punishment demand

His view of what should happen if City’s appeal is unsuccessful is considerably tougher. Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, Carragher argued that one substantial points deduction would effectively punish the club for only a single season.

“I do think the punishment should be over several years, three to five years,” he said.

Carragher has separately argued that trophies won during the period covered by the commission’s findings should be removed from City’s record and that the club’s owners should no longer remain in English football.

Those are Carragher’s proposals rather than an indication of the sanction City will receive. No final punishment has been determined, and the club’s appeal against the commission’s findings remains ongoing.

City maintain they are innocent of the Premier League’s accusations and say they have submitted a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” in support of their position.

Until the appeal process is concluded, both the final status of the commission’s findings and any consequences arising from them remain unresolved.

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