- Published
It is one of the biggest talking points from the Manchester City case.
asserted
It → publish → case
Should City be stripped of the eight trophies they won between 2009 and 2018, the period in which they were accused of breaking Premier League financial rules?
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they → strip → rules
Judging by social media, many fans of rival clubs are now hoping for such an outcome.
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fans → judge → outcome
However BBC Sport has been told there has been little appetite from within the Premier League - both the organisation and clubs - for past titles to be stripped from City
Does that put an end to it?
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that → tell → it
Not quite, as the decision will be made by an independent panel which is yet to hold the "sanction hearing".
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which → make → hearing
That means it cannot be completely ruled out, although a points deduction, huge fine or possibly even expulsion from the Premier League are thought to be more likely.
uncertain
deduction → mean → League
Here, BBC Sport analyses this difficult issue and decision the panel is now facing.
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panel → analyse → issue
"I think we still have a chance to win that league… and then they have to pay me the bonus and give me the medal."
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they → think → medal
It was almost two years ago that Jose Mourinho mischievously raised the possibility that his former club Manchester United could be handed the 2018 Premier League title held by Manchester City.
uncertain
club → raise → City
Under Mourinho, United finished second to City by 19 points in 2018, his final full campaign in charge at Old Trafford.
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United → finish → Trafford
City have always denied wrongdoing.
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City → deny → wrongdoing
But now we know they have been found guilty of the majority of the 115 charges, was Mourinho right?
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Mourinho → know → charges
Premier League rules do not directly make reference to such a sanction, with a fine, points deduction or expulsion listed as possible punishments.
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fine → make → punishments
However, they also allow for a disciplinary commission panel to impose a penalty "as it shall think fit".
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it → allow → penalty
That theoretically could include retrospectively-applied points deductions, or the stripping of titles.
uncertain
That → include → titles
Many will argue that if upheld after any appeal, the nature and scale of the wrongdoing City have been found guilty of warrants such as sanction on the basis that titles were won unfairly, and any misrepresentation of revenue and costs gave them a crucial competitive advantage.
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misrepresentation → argue → advantage
City were accused of a wide range of rule breaches, centred around claims that they inflated sponsorship revenue from connected companies and made other "off the books" payments to circumvent football's financial rules.
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they → accuse → rules
So with a cloud hanging over the trophy-laden era City have enjoyed since the takeover of the club by Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Mansour in 2008, could asterisks now be applied to the titles City won during the period in which they have been found to have broken the rules?
uncertain
they → hang → rules
Could they be left blank?
uncertain
they → leave → ?
Or, as implied by Mourinho, reallocated to those teams who finished runners-up to City?
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who → imply → City
Those clubs are:
Premier League
2011-12: Manchester United
2013-14: Liverpool
2017-18: Manchester United
FA Cup
2010-11: Stoke City
EFL Cup
2013-14: Sunderland
2015-16: Liverpool
2017-18: Arsenal
Community Shield
2012-13 Chelsea
Such a move would threaten to open the proverbial can of worms, raising questions over other accomplishments.
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move → threaten → accomplishments
For instance, there is now scepticism towards the various trophies Chelsea won in the 2010s, after the club were found to have made a catalogue of secret payments to agents over transfers, between 2011 and 2018.
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club → be → 2011
Some will ask that if retrospective action is applied to City, should the same not happen to Chelsea?
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same → ask → Chelsea
It is impossible to know exactly to what extent City benefited on the field from their rule breaches.
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City → know → breaches
And which players they may not have been able to afford if they had adhered to the regulations.
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they → afford → regulations
And what about the period between December 2018 and February 2023, when City stand accused of a failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations?
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City → accuse → investigations
Should retrospective action be applied then too?
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action → apply → ?
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool finished runners-up to Pep Guardiola's City twice during that time.
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Liverpool → finish → time
Last year, the German coach joked he would host a party in his garden if his former club were suddenly awarded those titles.
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club → joke → titles
Some will conclude that the rule breaches between 2009 and 2018 helped City to lay the foundations on which Guardiola built on to achieve so much success, culminating in the Treble triumph of 2023.
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Guardiola → conclude → 2023
Does that come into scope?
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that → come → scope
Where does it end?
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it → end → ?
For some, the mass reallocation of titles over such a long period would risk making a mockery of Premier League history, jeopardising its reputation and commercial viability.
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reallocation → risk → reputation
Others would argue that some 17 years after the first alleged breach, and with City accused of distorting the competition over multiple seasons, serious damage has already been done to the league's standing.
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damage → argue → standing
And while there is no Premier League precedent, such concerns have not prevented such punishments being applied before in football.
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punishments → be → football
Juventus had the Serie A titles they won in 2005 and 2006 revoked as a result of the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal - when five Italians teams were penalised for attempting to influence results by picking certain referees.
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teams → have → referees
The first title was left blank by authorities, with the second reallocated to Inter Milan.
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second → leave → Milan
Elgin City won the 1992-93 Highland League, but were later stripped of the title after having been found to have fielded ineligible players.
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City → win → players
In 2012, Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by the UCI, cycling's governing body, for doping.
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Armstrong → strip → doping
And the reallocation of medals has become commonplace in athletics as a result of positive drugs tests that can emerge long after events have taken place.
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events → become → place
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
