| There has been a lot of speculation about what could happen to Manchester City if it is found guilty of some or all of these breaches. The punishment could range from a substantial fine to a points deduction, relegation or even expulsion from the league. “We’re not sure what expulsion from the league means in practice because presumably City would try to rejoin, but it’s not clear if they would join at the Championship or League Two or whether they would have to start even lower down,” Jonathan says. Last season, Everton were docked eight points for much smaller infractions than the allegations against Manchester City. “So we could be talking in terms of hundreds of points being docked,” Jonathan says. “Obviously, once you get beyond about 60 or 70 it’s irrelevant because you’re already bottom of the league – there’s no difference”. If this were to happen, City would inevitably appeal, as it did in the Uefa investigation, and it would probably mark a new phase in a very lengthy, very expensive legal battle. Even if City is exonerated, or given a less serious punishment like a fine or a ban from signing players for a year or two, the situation has already left other clubs in the Premier League“furious”, Jonathan says. He says that if Manchester City isn’t severely reprimanded, “[other clubs] are briefing that they are prepared to take legal action of their own and potentially even quit the Premier League and go back into the Football League”. Taking the steps to actually quit the league may prove too difficult in the end, but the fact that some clubs are threatening to do so demonstrates the level of anger and the enthusiasm to see City penalised. The Premier League is in a bind either way. Losing this case would deal a heavy blow to its credibility and authority, while winning would inevitably lead to an extensive and extremely costly legal battle against City that could go on for years. The bigger picture The effects of this case on football as a whole could be seismic because it threatens to fundamentally disrupt trust in the sport. “As soon as you think that what you’re watching could be overturned in a court later on, then why would you invest emotionally in that?” Jonathan asks. Once points get docked and the lead position is determined not by results on the pitch but by what happens in these committees, people will inevitably be turned off. The legal battles and financial regulation have begun to subsume the sport itself, Jonathan says. “I think it’s a great shame for Manchester City this season that [City’s lawyer] Lord Pannick is almost as important as Erling Haaland, and that’s really not the way it ought to be,” Jonathan says. However, the City case is just one strand, Jonathan adds, of a much wider problem in the sport and “we are reaching crisis point”. “The problem now with pretty much every European league is that the big teams win everything all the time,” Jonathan says, which disrupts the competitive balance of the games. Inevitably, as these teams win they become wealthier, allowing them to buy the best players and managers, and the cycle continues. As Jonathan says, “the greed is phenomenal”. | 