Piers Morgan demands Man City points deduction for ‘rule break’

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Arsenal fan Piers Morgan has demanded that the Premier League deduct points from Manchester City after charging the club with more than 100 financial rule breaches. The Gunners would stand to benefit the most from that punishment with Pep Guardiola’s men the closest challengers for the title. 

City were today referred to an independent commission by the Premier League after allegations of numerous financial rule breaks over the course of a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018. 

Should the Citizens be found guilty, the club could face a range of severe penalties with points deductions, huge fines, transfer bans, spending limits, stripped titles and even expulsion from the Premier League on the table. However, reports indicate that punishments are not likely to be retrospective, or affecting things that have happened in the past, meaning they could be applied to this season instead. 

Now Morgan has weighed in with his opinion, instantly seeing the benefits for his club Arsenal. The Gunners currently sit five points clear of City at the top of the Premier League and their position would only be strengthened if their closest rivals were given a significant points deduction. 

“Outrageous,” he wrote on Twitter. “Immediate points deduction!” 

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City have always denied any wrongdoing and are expected to vehemently challenge the Premier League’s findings in the commission.

A statement released by the club said: “Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with.

“The Club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent Commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position. As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.” 

It is unclear how long the process could take but given the investigation has taken over four years just to reach this point, it appears unlikely a conclusion will be reached before the end of the season.  

City’s financial practices have been under the microscope since German paper Der Spiegel published leaked emails back in 2018, which suggested Sheikh Mansour had inflated City’s commercial figures to get around Financial Fair Play rules.

UEFA had found the Sky Blues to have broken their rules between 2013 and 2018, banning the club from the Champions League for two years before the decision was reversed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport as the sanctions were ‘time-barred’ and hence reduced to a £9million fine. 

The Premier League investigation relates to the period between 2009 and 2018. City are alleged to have breached the ‘provision by a member club to the Premier League, in the utmost good faith, of accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position, in particular with respect to its revenue (including sponsorship revenue), its related parties and its operating costs’ on more than 50 different occasions.

The club are also alleged to have broken the rule for disclosing ‘full details of manager remuneration’ while potentially most damning is the third section of the Premier League’s findings, which focuses on its members to require ‘a member club to comply with UEFA’s regulations, including UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations’.

It remains to be seen what the outcome of the commission will be but fans of other Premier League sides will hope the sporting sanctions are severe. 

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