Manchester City ‘could be REJECTED from the EFL’ if they are expelled from the Premier League, with second, third and fourth tiers of English football under ‘no obligation’ to accept them
The English Football League would reportedly have no obligation to accept Manchester City as a member should the club be expelled from the Premier League over alleged breaches of financial rules.
The reigning champions were charged by the Premier League on Monday with more than 100 breaches of financial rules following a four-year investigation.
The charges cover a nine-season timespan and relate to matters such as failing to provide accurate financial information over sponsorship revenue and not disclosing a manager’s true salary.
City hit back hard, declaring they had ‘irrefutable evidence’ that they had done nothing wrong and that they looked forward to the matter ‘being put to rest once and for all’.
An independent commission, made up of a panel of three, will rule on the charges in a private hearing.
The EFL would have no obligation to accept Manchester City should they be expelled
The commission has the power to strip titles, deduct points, issue fines and potentially expel City from the Premier League should the club be found guilty.
According to The Telegraph, the EFL would have no obligation to accept Manchester City in the event the club was hit with expulsion from the league, the most extreme punishment available.
Clubs have to apply to become EFL members upon relegation from the Premier League at the end of the season, with the three promoted clubs from the Championship becoming shareholders in the top flight.
The EFL, which governs the Championship, League One and League Two, reportedly would not automatically have to accept a club should they be expelled from the Premier League as only 72 clubs are permitted to be members.
The charges against the reigning champions relate to financial information regarding revenue, details of manager and player remuneration, UEFA regulations, profitability and sustainability and co-operation with Premier League investigations.
A statement from the league said alleged financial breaches were committed from September 2009 to the 2017-18 season and will be referred to an independent commission. City are also facing charges for failing to cooperate with the investigation since it began in 2018.
It adds that the club is alleged to have breached league rules requiring provision ‘in utmost good faith’ of ‘accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position’.
In a statement on Monday, Manchester City said it was surprised by the alleged breaches.
City are accused of breaching financial rules more than 100 times in nine seasons (Sheikh Mansour pictured speaking with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak)
The potential range of punishments the Commission could hand down to Manchester City
It read: ‘Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with.
‘The Club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent Commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.
‘As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.’
City declined to comment beyond their statement. It is understood, however, that there is a view within the club that the timing of the charges do not come as a coincidence.
The charges were announced a day before the Government had been due to publish a White Paper on the independent regulator for football.
That date has been pushed back to February 20 at the earliest.
The belief is that the charges may have sent a powerful message to Downing Street, ahead of publication, that the Premier League is more than capable of governing itself.
Back in February 2020, City were banned from the Champions League and fined £25million after they were found to have seriously misled European footballing governing body UEFA and broken financial fair play rules.
This was then lifted by the court of arbitration for sport which also reduced the club’s fine to £9m.
The panel at the time said City had shown a ‘disregard’ for the principle that clubs must cooperate with a governing body’s investigations, and conducted an ‘obstruction of the investigations’.
However, on the central finding by the CFCB’s adjudicatory chamber that City’s Abu Dhabi ownership had disguised its own funding as independent sponsorship by the state’s commercial companies, the CAS found: ‘Most of the alleged breaches were either not established or time-barred.’
Premier League rules though state there there is no similar restriction on the length of time since an alleged offence took place.
No timeframe has been set for a decision to be reached by the commission.
The independent commission will be chaired by Murray Rosen KC, who is the chairman of the judicial panel.
