Manchester City’s alleged financial misdemeanours could have consequences well beyond the Premier League, giving Lincoln City good reason to keep an eye on developments.
It’s being reported that Man City have been found guilty of the majority of the 115 charges brought against them over alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules, although the written judgement and any punishment have yet to be published. The case covers allegations of inaccurate financial reporting, undisclosed player and manager payments, breaches of spending regulations and a failure to co-operate with investigators. Man City have consistently denied wrongdoing and are expected to appeal, meaning the reports represent another significant stage in the process rather than its conclusion.
The possible punishments range from a reprimand or fine through to suspended sanctions, points deductions and, at the most severe end, removal from the Premier League. A sufficiently large points deduction could send them into the Championship through the usual relegation process, but outright expulsion would raise a different question: where would they be allowed to play? The EFL would have no automatic obligation to admit an expelled club, potentially leaving Man City seeking a place further down the pyramid, even in the National League. That is a possible scenario rather than an established punishment, and would depend on admission decisions outside the Premier League’s control.
This is where Imps’ interest comes in. The EFL could accept Man City into the Championship, no questions asked. They might decide that they will only accept them in League Two, or not at all. While those last two options are the nuclear choices, it’s where our interest comes in. If they’re dropped into the Championship, it means little to us, but Premier League clubs would almost certainly see just two relegation spaces, as any demotion would likely be due to a points deduction. If they’re then refused immediate Championship access and dropped into League One, it would be as though one relegation spot had been taken up, possibly meaning only the bottom two in the Championship go down. If they were dropped into League Two, it would be assumed only three clubs would drop out of League One, and four would go up, so we’d be unaffected.
There is an English precedent for one club’s financial misconduct handing another an unexpected opportunity. Swindon Town beat Sunderland 1-0 in the 1990 Second Division play-off final, only to lose their promotion after admitting 36 breaches of Football League regulations, 35 involving illegal payments to players. Initially relegated to the Third Division, Swindon successfully appealed to remain in the Second Division, but their place in the top flight went to Sunderland. The losing finalists therefore secured a promotion they had failed to win at Wembley, demonstrating that the final whistle does not always settle who plays where the following season.
Other clubs have lost their top-flight status in different circumstances, although none provides an exact comparison with Man City’s case. Middlesbrough’s three-point deduction for failing to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn proved decisive in their 1997 Premier League relegation, while financial collapse saw Rangers enter Scotland’s fourth tier under a new company in 2012 and Parma restart in Italy’s Serie D in 2015. Fiorentina similarly restarted in the fourth tier in 2002 following bankruptcy, having already been relegated from Serie A on the pitch. Juventus and Marseille also suffered enforced demotions following separate scandals involving refereeing influence and match-fixing, respectively, reminders that even some of Europe’s biggest names have been forced to rebuild below the top division.
Is it likely that Man City will be forced into League One? It seems the most unlikely of all outcomes. If relegation is enforced, then surely it’ll either be into the Championship, or they’ll be made to start in League Two or the National League, the bottom of the EFL or not in the EFL at all. To randomly be shoved into the third tier is surely the most unlikely outcome, but still, you never quite know.
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