Manchester City are being discussed in the harshest terms yet, with talk of relegation, expulsion and even being kept out of the EFL altogether. Ben Jacobs told talkSPORT that the Premier League is pushing for “a significant, a record, a ground-breaking, a severe points deduction, and even having Manchester City relegated.” City are still waiting on the sanction hearing, but the language around the case has moved a long way beyond a routine punishment debate.
The EFL response
The most striking detail is the claim that if Manchester City are kicked out of the Premier League, the EFL would try to keep them out of its own divisions too. Jacobs said the EFL plan to read the verdict and, “in solidarity”, back the Premier League position. He also said there is a “danger in a doomsday scenario” that City could be “kicked out of football altogether”.
That is where the story has turned darker than a normal relegation case. The expectation being reported is that the EFL would deny entry into the Championship, League One or League Two, which would leave the club facing the fifth tier and the National League. City’s own position on the pitch is the opposite of crisis, with five straight league wins, 15 points from 5 games and a +8 goal difference, but the off-field risk now sits far beyond points deduction talk.
Titles and City’s stance
Dan Roan said BBC Sport has been told there is little appetite from within the Premier League for past titles to be stripped from City. The sanction hearing has still not taken place, so that remains a separate question from the more extreme punishment scenarios now being discussed.
City’s chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, struck a patient note in his letter to supporters. “The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the Club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began,” he said. The club are also 8th in the Champions League group-stage standings with 3 points from 1 game, which means the case is hanging over a packed season rather than sitting in the background.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
