Manchester City’s past honours not expected to be revisited despite potential punishment

Manchester City are unlikely to be stripped of trophies won during the period covered by the Premier League case, according to The Athletic.

The report says only “a very small number of people within Premier League circles expect titles to be removed and redistributed”, despite an independent commission finding the club guilty of more than 100 alleged breaches.

The findings have prompted supporters and players at Stoke City, Sunderland and Watford to question whether their clubs could be awarded honours retrospectively.

Stoke City lost to Manchester City in the 2011 FA Cup final, Sunderland were beaten in the 2014 League Cup final, and Watford were defeated by them in the 2019 FA Cup final.

However, Oliver Kay, writing for The Athletic, says the prevailing view since the case began has been that any punishment would be aimed primarily at Manchester City’s future rather than applied retrospectively.

That would make the removal of trophies won in previous seasons, followed by their reallocation to runners-up, an unlikely outcome at this stage.

The report comes only days after The Athletic revealed the outcome of the case, having been the first organisation to report that the independent commission had found Manchester City guilty of a significant number of the charges brought by the Premier League.

The investigation has lasted several years and concerns more than 100 alleged financial rule breaches. Its outcome has raised major questions about the integrity of the Premier League during the period under scrutiny.

Kay argues that any punishment must be substantial, questioning the purpose of such a lengthy legal process if its conclusion results in a penalty that does not reflect the seriousness of the case.

The Premier League has placed itself in direct opposition to one of the competition’s biggest clubs by pursuing the case over such an extended period, the report says. As a result, the final sanction will be important not only for Manchester City but also for the image and credibility of the league.

Fans of clubs defeated by Manchester City in the finals covered by the case remain interested in whether the competition’s record could be rewritten. But the Athletic report suggests that retrospectively changing the winners is not currently regarded as the most likely route.

Manchester City could therefore face severe sanctions without necessarily losing the honours won in past seasons. The exact punishment, and its wider consequences, will depend on the decision due at the next stage of the process.