Manchester City may be kicked out of more than the Premier League if guilty of 115 charges

Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City squad may be removed from more than just the Premier League, should the club be found guilty of the most serious of the 115 charges.

The hearing into the Premier League champions’ 115 charges for alleged breaches of the English top-flight’s financial rules began on Monday, after the club were first issued with such charges back in February 2023.

Following a four-year investigation and having been referred to an independent commission by the Premier League at the time, it was alleged that Manchester City had breached financial rules between 2009 and 2018.

In direct response to the charges, and in a stance that the club maintain, Manchester City strongly denied all charges and have said that their case is supported by a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence”.

Uncertainty now looms over what could happen to Manchester City in the event of the club being found guilty of some of the more serious charges within the list of 115, with a new report delving deep into various competition rules.

According to The Telegraph’s Ben Rumsby, Manchester City would be at risk of being expelled from the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, with no certainty of being able to continue in the Champions League or FIFA Club World Cup, should they be found guilty of the most serious of their 115 charges.

The report points towards clause 31 of FA Cup rules, which state: “Where a club has been admitted to participate in the competition but is then removed from the league in which it competes (or its league fixtures are suspended), the Professional Game Board [PGB, made up of representatives of the Premier League and English Football League] may remove the club from the competition.”

As for the Carabao/EFL Cup rules, they define participating clubs as “each member from time to time of the league and each member from time to time of the Premier League”.

Looking at the rules governing the Champions League, The Telegraph points out that they appear to be more complex, with teams requiring a Uefa club licence to play in European competitions.

Back in July 2020, City overturned a two-year ban from European club competitions, after UEFA issued a block on Pep Guardiola’s side in the previous February after ruling that the club had committed “serious breaches” of Financial Fair Play regulations between 2012 and 2016.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) announced at the time that Manchester City would be cleared of “disguising equity funds as sponsorship contributions”, while a fine was cut from €30 million to €10 million.

In direct response to that ruling, City said the decision was “validation of the club’s position and body of evidence it was able to present”, whilst a statement continued, “The club wishes to thank the panel members for their diligence and the due process that they administered”.