The fate of eight trophies won by Manchester City from 2009 to 2018 has become a hot topic in football following the club's guilty verdict on a majority of 115 charges related to financial rule breaches in the Premier League. While rival fans on social media call for historic retribution, sources from BBC Sport indicate that the Premier League hierarchy, along with other clubs, are hesitant to rewrite history and strip the 'Citizens' of their previous championships.
However, it's too early to conclude this matter: an independent commission will determine any punishment during a special sanctions hearing. While the stripping of titles remains a possibility, experts suggest more likely outcomes could include point deductions, hefty fines, or even exclusion from the Premier League. BBC Sports Editor Dan Roan has analysed this unprecedented situation.
“Then they'll pay me my bonus and hand over the medal”
Jose Mourinho's words, spoken with a smirk two years ago, resonate differently today. The former Manchester United boss alluded to the potential transfer of the 2018 championship title to his old club if City were found guilty.
In that season, Mourinho's last full one at Old Trafford, United finished a massive 19 points behind the champions. But if City breached fair play rules en route to that title, how fair was that race?
The Premier League’s regulations do not explicitly state that titles can be revoked; among the potential punishments are fines, point deductions, and league exclusion. Nonetheless, the disciplinary commission is permitted to impose any penalty it deems appropriate, theoretically including retroactive point deductions that could nullify past victories.
Supporters of hardline measures point to the scale of the infractions. City has been accused of inflating sponsorship revenue from affiliated companies and making shadow payments to circumvent UEFA and Premier League limits. These financial manipulations are believed to have given City a crucial competitive edge in the transfer market, enabling them to acquire players they could not have afforded under the rules.
Who would get the gold medals?
If the commission were to amend the official list of champions for the seasons affected by the violations from 2011/12 to 2017/18, the new trophy recipients might read as follows:
Premier League:
- 2011/12 — Manchester United
- 2013/14 — Liverpool
- 2017/18 — Manchester United
FA Cup:
- 2010/11 — Stoke City
EFL Cup:
- 2013/14 — Sunderland
- 2015/16 — Liverpool
- 2017/18 — Arsenal
Community Shield:
- 2012/13 — Chelsea
Opening a can of worms
This precedent threatens to open a proverbial Pandora's box. Questions would inevitably arise regarding Chelsea's trophies won in the 2010s— as they have been caught in secret payments to transfer agents during the 2011-2018 period. It begs the question: if City is punished, why not Chelsea?
Moreover, it is incredibly challenging to assess the precise impact of financial infractions on on-field results. Yes, these violations helped lay the foundations for Pep Guardiola's great team, which achieved a treble in 2023. But should retrospective sanctions extend to this period?
Jurgen Klopp, whose Liverpool side finished just one point behind City in the championship race on two occasions (2019 and 2022), joked last year that he would throw a party in his garden if his old club were to be awarded those titles. However, the allegations of financial wrongdoing pertain purely to the 2009-2018 period. For the time frame from December 2018 to February 2023, the club has only been accused of refusing to cooperate with the Premier League investigation.
The impact on the ecosystem
Some argue that a mass redistribution of titles across such a lengthy period would turn the Premier League's history into a laughing stock, inflicting irreparable damage on its reputation and commercial appeal. Others counter that, after 17 years since the first alleged breach when City is accused of distorting competition over several seasons, the league's reputation has already taken a severe hit.
There have been precedents for title stripping in world football. Take the Italian Calciopoli scandal of 2006: Juventus had their titles from 2005 and 2006 stripped due to influencing referees. The first title was left vacant, while the second was awarded to Inter. There's also a precedent in British football: in 1993, Elgin City was stripped of its Highland League title for fielding unregistered players. Such punishments are a common practice in cycling (Lance Armstrong was stripped of seven Tour de France titles) and athletics.
Nonetheless, with financial rule violations, the argument is more complex. Many believe it unjust that players and fans, who had no involvement in the board's wrongdoing, should be made to suffer the loss of titles. On Friday, former City midfielder Rodri firmly rejected the very notion of stripping the club of their trophies.
What we did, they cannot take away from us. It's not something you pay for with money. You pay for it with effort, pain, and standing shoulder to shoulder with your teammates every day. I can tell you it was all earned, and I'm glad I got to live through one of the best eras in English football here.
Furthermore, the geopolitical factor cannot be ignored. Some experts hint at serious diplomatic chill between the UK and the UAE if a club owned by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family has its trophies stripped. Such diplomatic tension would be all but guaranteed.
A deluge of lawsuits
Experts predict that the most likely legal ramifications stemming from retrospective actions will be mass lawsuits for lost earnings rather than demands to strip titles. One lawyer described the potential scale of the disaster:
The question is not whether clubs can sue... It's where does the line end for those who claim they have grounds to sue? Clubs that failed to win trophies, missed out on European qualification, were relegated... Players who missed bonuses or contract extensions... Staff who missed out on bonuses... Agents who didn't receive their commissions on player deals... It's a never-ending avalanche of lawsuits that could potentially destroy the entire football ecosystem.
