How should Man City be punished? Why points deduction, Premier League expulsion, or stripping titles may be a mistake

With Manchester City reportedly being found guilty of the majority of the charges brought against them by the Premier League, attention has already turned towards how the rest of the process will play out. The club is expected to appeal the decision, but if that holds up, the Premier League will have to determine how they wish to sanction City for their breaches.

Thanks to the flexibility of the Premier League regulations, everything is seemingly on the table. If it comes to it, how hard will the league come down on one of their biggest and most prominent clubs?

The Sporting News runs through the pluses and minuses of each potential punishment, and decides how likely each one is to become reality. A variety of punishments could be on the table for Manchester City after reportedly being found guilty on the majority of the charges brought against them by the Premier League.

According to The Athletic and many other reports around the UK, everything is on the table for Man City, from a slap on the wrist to a points deduction and even expulsion from the league. According to Premier League regulation W.

64, the following potential punishments are on the table: Having heard and considered such mitigating and/or aggravating factors (if any) the commission may: Reprimand the respondent Impose upon the respondent a fine unlimited in amount and suspend any part thereof In the case of a respondent which is a club: Suspend it from playing in league matches or any matches in competitions which form part of the games programmes or professional development leagues (as those terms are defined in the youth development rules) for such period as it thinks fit Deduct points scored or to be scored in league matches or such other matches Recommend that the board orders that a league match or such other match be replayed Recommend that the league expels the respondent from membership in accordance with the provisions of Rule B. 6 Order the respondent to pay compensation unlimited in amount to any person or to any lub (or club) Cancel or refuse the registration of a player registered or attempted to be registered in contravention of these rules Impose upon the respondent any combination of the foregoing or such other penalty as it shall think fit Essentially, everything from a verbal reprimand to a fine, retroactive negation of match results, a points deduction, or expulsion from the league are all possible.

Which potential punishment fits for Man City violations? Each potential punishment comes with its own set of positive and negative effects on not only Manchester City, but also the Premier League, English football as a whole, and even European and global football.

This is, undoubtedly, a seismic moment for the governance of the sport on the whole. Here is a note about each potential punishment that the Premier League could mete out, and why it either works or doesn't.

Negatives Given all the time and effort the Premier League have invested into the investigation, and how serious the alleged violations are, this option is basically unthinkable. It would be mocked, criticized, and billboarded by essentially every stakeholder, fan, and media member for being weak and embarrassing.

Likelihood: 0/10 Fine Positives Fining Manchester City would not only prove how serious their alleged violations were, but also help signal to stakeholders that such breaches will have an impact on their bottom line, and help assuage competitors who believe they have been financially impacted by Man City's wrongdoings. According to The Athletic, Manchester United are already lining up to consider recovering possible financial losses from City's violations, and forcing the club to issue compensation for their actions could go a long way in avoiding individual lawsuits stemming from the violations.