David Bernstein, the former chairman of Manchester City from 1998 to 2003, believes that simply imposing fines following the club's admission of guilt regarding 114 Premier League rule breaches is inadequate.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Bernstein emphasised the club's immense financial clout:
I don't want to predict specific sanctions, but fundamentally, monetary fines won't be enough. We're talking about a club with bottomless pockets. Money doesn't mean as much to them as we've seen in recent transfer windows. Whether it’s £100 million or £200 million, that kind of punishment won't have the desired effect.
It saddens me deeply as a fan to say this. I believe the sanctions need to impact their competitive status. When it comes to point deductions, it all depends on the timing of the verdict.
If the decision were made right now, with just a few games played, and if the penalties were severe enough to affect their standing in the Premier League, I estimate around 80 points would need to be deducted. That would mean they'd be unable to save their season and would end up relegated.
However, if appeals and processes delay the ruling until the end of the season, the situation would change. Then we would be talking about automatic relegation – though I can't say to which division exactly. Much depends on the timing.
There is also a strong likelihood that the issue won't be resolved this season; Manchester City remains adamant about their innocence and is guaranteed to contest any adverse findings from the commission.
