Manchester City should be kicked out of Premier League, says LaLiga’s Tebas
Spanish football league chief Javier Tebas has called for Manchester City to be expelled from the Premier League after being found guilty of mass financial rule breaches.
City are expected to appeal before sanctions can be issued by the independent commission that found them guilty of 114 of the 115 charges relating to the period from 2009 to 2018.
But Tebas, a long-standing critic of state-backed clubs such as City and Paris Saint-Germain, insists the serious and extended nature of the breaches demands the most severe punishment available, which is expulsion from the Premier League.
“I do not know the exact regulations, but I believe the most severe sanction available under the Premier League rules should be imposed,” said the LaLiga president, speaking at the Fifpro Performance and Health Summit in London.
“The purpose of a punishment is not to set an example, as if we were dealing with children. The purpose is to enforce the rules. If a club has been breaking the rules for more than 10 years, even if the breaches seem minor, the overall misconduct is very serious. Therefore, the punishment must be severe because of the violations themselves.
“As many clubs have pointed out, championships may have been won that should not have been won. What has happened is extremely important and I hope it marks a before and after, not only in the Premier League but across European football, because the ‘Manchester effect’ was felt throughout Europe.”
Manchester City: How Premier League expulsion would work
The Premier League’s charges against City relate to disguising ownership investment as sponsorship revenue, making off-book payments to players and managers, and failing to cooperate with its investigation.
City said they expected to clear their name after the charges were brought in 2023 and reiterated that stance when news of the commission’s guilty verdicts broke last week.
Expulsion from the Premier League is the nuclear option and would require the backing of 15 of the division’s 20 clubs, but the commission could impose a heavy points penalty that effectively condemns them to relegation. Other punishments available include fines and transfer bans.
City won three Premier League titles during the period investigated, which began a year after the Abu Dhabi United Group bought the club. That success formed the foundations of the further glory of the following six years, which delivered five Premier Leagues and a first ever Champions League.
Besides sporting sanctions, City are also facing claims for financial damages from rival clubs including Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur for prize money lost during the period in question. Leading sports lawyers have told City AM that players from those clubs could also bring compensation claims against City.