{"id":296232,"date":"2026-09-29T15:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T15:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/296232\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T15:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T15:48:11","slug":"manchester-city-must-face-strictest-punishment-if-found-guilty-laliga-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/296232\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester City must face \u2018strictest punishment\u2019 if found guilty \u2013 LaLiga chief"},"content":{"rendered":"

News broke on Friday that City had been found guilty of the majority of the charges laid against them, although chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak is \u201cconfident\u201d they will prove their innocence.<\/p>\n

The most severe punishment available to the Premier League is expulsion, an outcome that would require the support of at least 15 of the competition\u2019s 20 clubs at a general meeting.<\/p>\n

Tebas, a campaigner against \u2018financial doping\u2019 in European football, believes any sanction should reflect non-compliance as well as setting an example.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know the exact rules, but I believe it should be the strictest punishment in the Premier League regulations regarding this matter,\u201d Tebas said at the FIFPRO performance summit in London.<\/p>\n

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has told his fellow European club bosses the already lengthy legal battle with the Premier League will take \u201ca lot more time\u201d to conclude.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be a punishment intended to set an example. This isn\u2019t a matter of a father and his children \u2013 it is a punishment to ensure rules are followed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd violating the rules for over 10 years \u2013 no matter how minor the infractions \u2013 is a very serious matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore it has to be a severe punishment for the non-compliance. Not just to set an example, but because the rules were broken.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tebas hopes that establishing City\u2019s guilt will act as a pivotal moment in the game, with the repercussions having an impact beyond the Premier League.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to decide whether we strive for sustainable, clean football across all competitions or, as many clubs are now saying, we accept that championships were lost to other clubs when they shouldn\u2019t have been,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

En septiembre de 2017, en Soccerex, en Manchester, denunci\u00e9 p\u00fablicamente algo que llevaba tiempo preocup\u00e1ndome: el llamado dopaje financiero en el f\u00fatbol europeo.<\/p>\n

Habl\u00e9 del Manchester City y del PSG. De clubes cuya capacidad econ\u00f3mica no proced\u00eda \u00fanicamente de su actividad\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/r1LR9yuPKt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Javier Tebas Medrano (@Tebasjavier) September 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happened is hugely significant and hopefully marks a turning point, not just for the Premier League but for European football as a whole because the \u2018Manchester effect\u2019 was felt right across Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tebas also wants a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn a two-year UEFA ban imposed on City in 2020 for breaching financial rules to be looked at again.<\/p>\n

The CAS, which also reduced a 30million euros fine to 10m euros, cleared City of \u201cdisguising equity funds as sponsorship contributions\u201d and ruled that many of UEFA\u2019s allegations \u201cwere either not established or time-barred\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, the CAS decisions should be re-examined, specifically when they cleared City, or rather lifted the sanction UEFA had imposed, because those sanctions were lifted in a very questionable manner,\u201d Tebas said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now it has been proven that UEFA was right regarding the sanctions against Manchester City.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MauricioMauricio Pochettino says no punishment could make up for the \u201cdamage\u201d caused (Adam Davy\/PA)<\/p>\n

Former Tottenham and Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino expressed sadness that the Premier League \u201clived through a period of deception\u201d if City breached the rules.<\/p>\n

The Argentinian, who was in charge at Spurs between 2014 and 2019 and Stamford Bridge in 2023-24, having previously been at Southampton from 2013 to 2014, said it warped the view of history.<\/p>\n

Pochettino told the Guardian, through an interpreter: \u201cAt the end of the day, we went through something where sporting fairness didn\u2019t exist, so how do you repair everything that was damaged because of that?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s true\u2026 we\u2019ve lived through a period of deception.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pochettino said there was no punishment which could make up for the \u201cdamage\u201d which had been caused.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever punishment, it\u2019s impossible to turn back time,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s done a lot of damage. At the end of the day many clubs followed the rules and some didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HullAcun Ilicali became the first Premier League club owner to speak out publicly on the City case (John Walton\/PA)<\/p>\n

Hull owner Acun Ilicali claimed City\u2019s alleged offences were \u201cno different to doping and winning an Olympic medal\u201d.<\/p>\n

The first Premier League owner to speak out publicly, he told 1904 Club podcast: \u201cI don\u2019t say they are guilty or not because they are saying they are innocent, and the Premier League says they are not innocent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they are not innocent, I think it is no different to doping and winning an Olympic medal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is financial doping, at the end of the day. Bringing the top four or five players with huge money, breaking the rules. From that side, it doesn\u2019t look very positive.\u201d<\/p>\n