Relegated? Stripped of titles? Transfer bans? Our experts’ punishment for Man City

Telegraph Sport ReportersWed, September 30, 2026 at 11:10 AM UTC

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The Premier League has released its verdict on Manchester City’s case, but is yet to announce the sanctions - PA/Nick Potts

Manchester City have been found guilty of cheating and, after the full extent of their £920m cheating scandal was laid bare, nothing is off the table when it comes to punishing them.

Here, Telegraph Sport’s football writers and reporters have their say on what should happen to City next, if their appeal fails.

A fresh start ... in League Two

Good governance should be a punishment that reflects the scale of the rule-breaking and it should also lay out a way for Manchester City to continue to exist as a club, and to have a future. Both for the fans and the many people who work there who had nothing to do with the disguised funding. Uefa operates a sanction regime – under which both Chelsea and Aston Villa are operating. City should go under something similar for the foreseeable future, examining all commercial deals and other income, and ensuring they comply with SCR accordingly.

Expulsion from the Premier League is complicated as it requires consensus across different leagues and the attendant re-ordering. Given the scale of the wrongdoing, it is hard to see anything other than a fresh start in League Two sufficing. Then a fine to be redistributed among clubs. I am no fan of reassigning titles and trophies. It feels like an empty gesture. History will forever recall the details of what happened.

Multi-season sliding scale points deductions

It’s important that punishment must adequately reflect the scale of the illicit activity and serve as a huge deterrent to any club in the future. So I would advocate a sliding-scale points deduction for nine seasons to reflect the worst of their cheating between 2009-10 and 2017-18 when £830m of “sham” commercial income was falsely accounted for.

There should also be a massive fine equally redistributed to every club who competed against them in the Premier League during that time. I don’t believe in reassigning titles and trophies – football fans can apply their own asterisks. I understand the expulsion argument, but there are huge numbers of innocent rank-and-file staff at City and across the City Football Group who had no part in this who could be badly enough affected as it is. The same may also go for the local community and economy.

Triple whammy

The first step would be an unprecedented 114-point deduction. Why that figure? They have been found guilty of 114 charges and 114 is the figure you get by multiplying 38 games by three points. Having spent close to £1bn since January 2025, a five-year transfer ban at all levels, from Academy to the top, should be imposed. Last but not least, a fine: they inflated their sponsorship deals by £900m … should that not be given back?

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Multi-season deductions just the start

The punishment must be multi-season, given the offences were. Therefore, I would give City four seasons of points deductions on a sliding scale. 60 this season, 30 next, 20 and 10. There also has to be a record-breaking fine, which can be used to compensate other clubs, and a transfer ban.

Automatic relegation and then a points deduction

The first thing that needs to happen is City being expelled from the Premier League, the competition they have cheated in for so long. They simply cannot be allowed to remain a member. How far they fall down the football pyramid depends on your point of view, but I’d like to see them start again right at the bottom of the Football League. Given the club was built to cheat over such a prolonged period I would like to see them also start every season for at least the next five years with a sizeable points deduction that puts them at the same disadvantage their competitors have endured for so long.

Relegation and transfer ban

Relegation and a long transfer ban are appropriate sanctions as the charge sheet is so severe, but the after-effects will be even more damaging with an unparalleled player exodus and tarnished reputation in world football. However, the stripping of league titles is going too far in my opinion as that is still an achievement over 38 matches regardless of how the team was constructed.

Fines are not enough

The punishment should be as strong as the wording of the Premier League’s statement. Points deduction over several seasons to make it almost impossible to qualify for Europe, plus a transfer ban. Fining them would mean nothing to the wealth of their owners, but the £830.69m in illicit payments from the ruling would be fitting.

Reparations

I am less concerned with what happens to City and more with the impact their actions have had on the rest of football. Once they have taken their rightful place in non-League, I would enforce payments equal to their £920m revenue inflation to every club in the top four divisions. Conveniently there are 92, which means £10m each.

Stripped of all titles

Their honours board must be rewritten immediately as was done for Ben Johnson and Lance Armstrong. Any points penalty must cover a prolonged period matching the scale and timeframe of their offences. A mammoth points deduction impacting only one season will not suffice, given they would swiftly secure promotion back to the Premier League. City’s ability to win the title and qualify for the Champions League must be materially impacted for a minimum of the eight years they damaged the ambitions of every team they faced between 2009 and 2018, with the potential for further sanction to reflect their period of non-co-operation.

Kick them out of the league

City clearly cannot remain in the Premier League and, while a path back should exist, it cannot be over just one season. Potentially more important is what happens to those running and owning the club. If charges are upheld, proven cheating of this magnitude by other methods (with no hint of contrition) would surely carry huge bans from their sport.

Forced ownership sale

A sporting sanction is necessary and a heavy points deduction and transfer embargo would make sense. Most importantly, Sheikh Mansour cannot be allowed to continue as owner. He has betrayed the English game and his own supporters and there should be no way back.

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