Manchester City are facing one of the heaviest sanctions ever imposed on a Premier League club, but there is a scenario that could turn the matter into a sensational paradox. Even if the Citizens were to be relegated due to financial irregularities accused by the Premier League, their participation in the next Champions League would not be automatically ruled out.
This is one of the most delicate aspects to emerge in recent hours, as English football awaits the final consequences of the proceedings involving the Manchester club. The independent commission has found City guilty of alleged violations, for the period from 2009 to 2018, while at the heart of the case would have been commercial and financial agreements considered non-transparent, with more than 830 million pounds linked to operations considered irregular and other amounts that were not properly accounted for.
The Premier League must now decide what the appropriate response is. Extremely serious hypotheses are on the table: points deductions in the standings, relegation, restrictions on the transfer market, up to the annulment of some results and titles won during the period under review.
The loophole in UEFA regulations
This is where a particularly controversial scenario opens up. A possible relegation from the Premier League would not, in fact, automatically entail the loss of the UEFA license necessary to participate in European competitions. The issue arises from the way in which the requirements for obtaining a license are assessed. Sporting sanctions imposed at national level for conduct relating to previous seasons would not necessarily entail exclusion from European competitions.
In other words, if City were to secure a Champions League qualifying spot and maintain the necessary requirements to obtain a UEFA license, they could theoretically participate in European competition even if they were relegated to the Championship in the meantime.
A hypothesis that in English football is considered with particular concern. Because it would create a contradiction that is difficult to explain: a club punished by its league with a sanction so severe as to lose its place in the Premier League, could at the same time continue to benefit from the income and prestige of the main European competition. Of course, to make this scenario concrete, Manchester City must first secure qualification for the Champions League. But it is precisely this possibility that fuels fears of an unprecedented situation.
The anger of other Premier League clubs
The position of the other Premier League clubs seems anything but insignificant. The feeling among some clubs is that a simple points deduction concentrated in a single season would not be enough to compensate for the seriousness of the violations for which the club is accused. According to what the BBC reports, some clubs would be in favor of a penalty spread across several championships. A solution that would have much deeper consequences for City's sporting future and which could be accompanied by a transfer ban spread over several transfer windows.
The aim, in this case, would be to avoid a potential relegation from the league turning into a one-season period. A prolonged penalty would make it much more difficult for the club to quickly return to the top of English football.
Manchester City prepares for battle
Manchester City have always denied the allegations and have already filed an appeal against the decision, claiming that they have evidence capable of overturning the verdict. The appeal procedure could take several weeks and only at the end will it be possible to understand what the club's sporting fate will really be. Until then, all scenarios remain open.
