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James Murray

Wed 4 March 2026 12:00, UK

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Manchester City are facing “expulsion” from the Premier League if everything goes against them in their 115 charges case. 

That is according to former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider their removal may come via a heavy points deduction.

Pep Guardiola’s side were dealt the charges by the Premier League in February 2023 for allegedly breaching the financial fair play (FFP) rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018.

An independent commission hearing started in September 2024 and ended in December that same year.

The Premier League and Man City are facing significant legal costs as they continue to wait for the panel to deliver its verdict. 

How Man City could be removed from Premier League

It has been revealed Man City will face a second hearing if they are found guilty of the charges. 

That is because the initial verdict is expected to be purely based around liability.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed the potential punishment for Man City and whether a significant points deduction is on the cards.

“I think the better way to look at it, if we’re forced to have that conversation about what the sanction might be, is really what I said right from the very start of the process three years ago, which is if everything goes against Manchester City, they will not be in the Premier League,” said Borson.

“That will either be because of a point deduction that makes it impossible for them to be in the Premier League by expulsion from the Premier League under the Premier League rules or some other way. 

“We know from the rules that the independent commission has a lot of latitude in terms of how it punishes a club under rule W, which is the relevant section of the rules. That’s in play here, so they have a lot of flexibility. They can make all sorts of recommendations.” 

How many points Man City could be deducted

Speaking on The Overlap last week, finance expert Kieran Maguire suggested Man City could be deducted somewhere between 40 to 60 points if they are found guilty.

However, Borson insisted he doesn’t expect all the charges to be proven.

“The bottom line is if everything went against Manchester City, and as I’ve said before that’s not my expectation, but if it did, City are unlikely to remain in the Premier League,” said Borson. 

“Whether it’s 40 points, 60 points, whatever, it’s all largely irrelevant at this stage in terms of trying to figure that out because nobody knows and everybody’s guessing.

“But I think the best premise is that you could not operate under the situation in my view where if everything went against the club on the seriousness of these allegations that they remained in the Premier League.”

Man City currently sit second in the Premier League table as they look to chase down leaders Arsenal in the race for the title.