Can Man City have titles stripped if guilty of 115 charges as three experts have say

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Three football finance experts have given their thoughts on the extent of Manchester City ’s punishment if they are found guilty of the 115 charges brought against them . City and the Premier League still await the final verdict on the potential breaches, which some reports claim are actually as high as 130 , for allegedly violating financial regulations from 2009 to 2018 - a period in which City won three league titles.

The hearing into City's alleged breaches of the Premier League 's financial regulations concluded in December 2024 after a 12-week tribunal but the independent commission has yet to announce its verdict . City have denied any wrongdoing and are believed to be confident of being cleared.

However, if City are found guilty of the potential breaches, precedent suggests sporting sanctions would be the main method of punishment. Possible sanctions being touted range from having their titles stripped to major points deductions significant enough to result in the club’s relegation from the top flight.

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In the worst-case scenario, they could not only see titles from 2012, 2014 and 2018 removed but also have future seasons impacted. City are currently in the midst of a title race with Arsenal , with Pep Guardiola ’s side able to close the gap on the Gunners at the summit to just three points with a win in Sunday afternoon’s clash. But, even if they go on to lift the trophy this season, there is a possibility that this success could be affected by the outcome of the case, in the event that it is not pushed further down the road.

Stefan Borson, a football finance expert, argues that the punishment must be "transformative" if the "disguised equity" charges put against City are proven. While Borson acknowledges stripping titles is a tool available to the commission, he suggests it may be less practical than massive points deductions. He has noted that a "sanction hearing" following a guilty verdict could take months, making retrospective title changes a legal minefield.

Borson said while appearing on The Room Where It Happened : "If the worst case for Manchester City is established, I think the independent panel will go for a very large points deduction which will guarantee relegation. That to me seems the most obvious punishment but also the most obvious way to achieve what they will want to achieve from that sanction.

"Because in the worst case scenario for Manchester City, it seems obvious to me that the punishment will be very severe. It seems very unlikely to me that the case that’s set out against Man City is established. But, if it is, the punishment will be severe."

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire, author of The Price of Football, also suggests that a massive points deduction, potentially in the 40 to 60-point range, is more likely than stripping past titles. He points out that the Premier League would prefer to "look forward" rather than "rewrite history," as stripping titles creates "ghost champions" and complicates commercial and broadcasting rights already settled years ago.

He said on The Overlap Fan Debate : "I think you have to add a zero to what we’ve seen from Forest and Everton , so somewhere between a 40 and 60-point deduction would, I think, on merit, be consistent with what we’ve seen from other decisions on logic. If they want to go further then we don’t know the severity." Maguire expects that a verdict could be delivered in the coming months.

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Dr Dan Plumley, who has been in the sports business industry since 2006, is also of the view that a points deduction and fine would be the most likely punishment in the event that City are found guilty.

He added: "If City were to be found guilty, then all of those things would potentially be on the table as sanctions and the Premier League could push for any or a combination of. It is really difficult to predict what any outcome could be as there is no precedent.

"We will always be in the realms of speculation until we know, but if I were to speculate, I would suggest that a points deduction and fine would be most likely, with relegation and title stripping being the extreme, but unlikely, scenarios."

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