19 May 2026 12:17:57
So do we think that this pep news is a pre cursor to sanctions coming down on the 115? It's hard not to assume that it might be? Case been going on for ages and the verdict has been coming for months now apparently. Maybe an agreement between all parties to allow pep his flowers and then announce the outcome when the seasons over. That's my thinking although I might be reading too much into it.
19 May 2026 13:06:48
Not thinking about it at all.
They should get a very heavy punishment, but I won't be holding my breath.
19 May 2026 13:19:42
What do we think is an acceptable punishment?
19 May 2026 13:50:35
Mumbles
If found guilty, and that is an if as things stand, then the alleged offences spanned a number of years. I think the most appropriate is to not remove any previous success and award it to someone else, but to apply a penalty of minus 25 points per season over the next three to five seasons.
19 May 2026 14:06:30
Regardless of the outcome, City will appeal and drag out the process for as many years as they can.
In fact, by levelling 115 individual charges, the league have shot themselves in the foot because it gives City so many different avenues for appeal. The league could have packaged the 115 into 5 or so broader categories. However, they wanted the headlines that the bigger figure provided.
I feel like this will only get more frustrating, as it's likely City will have been found guilty, while appealing and continuing to operate as though nothing has changed. Anything I've read about the case has said that the City strategy is to drag the process out for as long as possible, thereby making any punishment more and more complicated.
19 May 2026 15:06:54
I'd expect it to be something like a 25 point deduction and 2 years of a transfer ban. It should relate to a deduction that is severe enough to relegate them, but the precedence set with the Chelsea punishment has lowered the bar significantly. I think something like that would probably ensure less of a chance of appeal, since, on appeal, they could threaten to increase the punishment.
The failure to cooperate with the EPL investigations should be dealt with most severely, but it is there that I'd expect them to be most lenient. There are about a dozen charges related to FFP and PSR, and it is those ones that I think will carry the bulk of the punishment. It's all guesswork, of course, at this stage.
19 May 2026 15:52:34
I don't think they have much scope to appeal, Danny. I think I read a while back that as this is a Premier League defined case, their appeal route wouldn't cause any major delay, as it's quite straightforward after the verdict.
Red Man, I'd want all their titles taken away from them. Their players won't give back the medals, their fans still have their memories, but the history books shouldn't be kind to a team that decided it wasn't playing by the same rules as everyone else.
As for runners up getting awarded titles, I think United would be owed a few, but I wouldn't want anything like that. Just a little asterisk beside each year, explaining their cheats.
I do like the idea of a points deduction for many seasons to come. A transfer ban and a season docked points would be very worthwhile for a decade of falsely growing the club and dominating English football.
19 May 2026 15:54:42
I've been clear about what I think. Their utter arrogance and disregard for the league, disrespect for their competitors, and their clear pi$$ taking of the system to frustrate and prolong the process is contemptible. Nothing short of expulsion from the league is acceptable. Cheating should be punished severely.
19 May 2026 19:28:11
Well, Southampton rightly got banned and a points deduction, Fizz. Let's hope the EPL have the same cahunas.
19 May 2026 22:41:28
Yep. If they have expelled Southampton for such a minority thing, then they cannot let City get away with this.
All eyes will be upon them now.
{Ed001's Note - they are unrelated - Soton was dealt with by the EFL, Man City is the EPL.}
20 May 2026 01:30:58
Fair enough. Thanks. But, I would have thought the FA would have a vested interest.
But, I still stand by my comment. City should get screwed!