By Humberto Viera
Sep 19, 2024, 2:32 PM EDT
Manchester City could be banned from competitions other than the Premier League if found guilty of serious breaches of the league’s financial rules.
As reported by Telegraph Sport, the Manchester club would be at risk of being excluded from both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, and there is no certainty that they would be able to continue participating in the Champions League or the Club World Cup.
According to the same outlet, City’s Premier League rivals believe that a simple points deduction would not be an adequate punishment if the club is found guilty of the majority of the charges against them, which total between 115 and 130 infringements, with some proposing expulsion from the Premier League.
However, the rules of the two domestic cup competitions raise the possibility that City’s exclusion from football could extend beyond the Premier League. For example, Clause 31 of the FA Cup rules states: “Where a club has been admitted to participate in the competition but is subsequently expelled from the league in which it competes (or its league fixtures are suspended), the Professional Game Board shall decide whether to suspend City’s participation in the competition or not. [PGB] may exclude the club from the competition.”
The rules governing the Champions League are more complex, with teams requiring a UEFA club licence to compete in European competitions.
Similarly, detailed regulations for the FIFA Club World Cup, which this year enters its expanded format and for which City qualified by winning the Champions League, do not appear to be publicly available.
However, if City are banned from all domestic competitions, it could prove very difficult for them to continue playing in the Champions League and the Club World Cup due to the long periods without competitive matches.
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