Man City 115 charges: ‘Final punishment could be worse than points deduction’
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has admitted the Premier League has got itself into a position where it can’t back down to Manchester City over the 115 charges – and the final punishment could be even worse than a points deduction.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed the governing body would be almost finished in terms of sporting integrity if it doesn’t pursue a genuine sanction for Man City.
Pep Guardiola’s side were dealt 115 charges by the Premier League in February 2023 for allegedly breaching the financial fair play (FFP) rules over a nine-year period.
Man City are alleged to have concealed payments through third parties by disguising them as sponsorship revenue.
The English champions’ case is expected to be heard in November, with Football Insider revealing in April they could be relegated to the Championship if they are found guilty.
Man City must be handed genuine punishment by Premier League
Wyness believes a points deduction alone wouldn’t be a fair outcome after Everton and Nottingham Forest were both docked points last season.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I think the Premier League have got themselves in a situation now, having gone after Everton and Forest on different charges.
“They couldn’t be seen to back down on the City charges now and I don’t think the football world would allow that.
“The Premier League would be almost finished in terms of sporting integrity if it did.
“I think there is going to have to be some sort of sanction on City in some way, but also something City will think is better than what they would have got had they gone through the whole court case.
“Whether that’s points deductions again, which doesn’t seem fair for the 115 charges compared to Everton and Forest.
“But it could be points or transfer bans for a couple of seasons.
“There has got to be something that is still seen as a genuine sanction, so I think it’s getting to that fine point where they both feel they have had a win.”
In other news, Man City will accept £20million striker offer as Premier League club swoop.
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