Man City FFP: 50-point deduction, lost appeal ‘certain’ as ‘very harsh’ punishment to ‘ensure relegation’

It has been suggested that Manchester City are ‘certain’ to lose their appeal and be deducted 50 points after being found guilty of their FFP charges.

Man City face severe sanctions after it emerged on Friday afternoon that they have been found guilty on 114 of their 115 FFP charges.

Enzo Maresca‘s side have been battling this case since the Premier League referred them to an independent comission at the start of 2023, which followed a four-year investigation into the club’s alleged conduct between 2009 and 2018.

After a hearing was held towards the end of 2024, a verdict has finally been reached, with Man City now facing a fine, transfer ban, points deduction, expulsion and/or being stripped of their Premier League titles.

It has also been reported that Man City will appeal, but former Everton CEO Keith Wyness has told Football Insider that they are ‘certain’ to lose the appeal and will also be deducted 50 points to “ensure relegation in some way”.

“Yeah, I think there is (a chance of relegation); it seems to be that the appeal is tenuous at best for City. It looks like they’re going to be found guilty even after appeal,” Wyness told Football Insider.

“It does seem that there’s little room for mitigating circumstances to go in their favour, so the final verdict is likely to be very harsh. That would certainly include something up to 50 points, which would probably ensure relegation in some way.

“I think the appeal process will be shorter than we initially thought. It seems there’s such a level of guilt; it’s virtually all areas that they’ve been found guilty of.

“It will be very hard to appeal on facts, so they will have to appeal on points of law, which are much easier to resolve. I expect it to be two or three months maximum in terms of the appeal process.”

On potential punishments, Wyness added: “There will be fines that will come, there will also be reputational damage for a lot of those involved.

“There may even be bans in terms of those people acting within the wider footballing industry to some degree. All these sorts of things could come out of this.

“It does seem that the Premier League have scored a resounding victory. Because it also damages the reputation of the league, it’s pretty bad for them to have to prove that their champions were guilty.”

“Any punishment will be severe…”

Former Man City financial advisor, Stefan Borson, meanwhile, has stated that “any punishment will be severe”, and he has shed light on what will happen following Friday’s revelation.

“We’ll have a sanction hearing, and the sanction hearing will be in private. Both parties will put forward, City will put forward their mitigation. They can expect very little mitigation,” Borson told Football Insider.

“On the other side, the Premier League will put forward what the punishment should be and what the aggravating factors are.

“City didn’t cooperate initially. That is a major aggravating factor. Even if it wasn’t, the things they’ve done are so serious in themselves, any punishment will be severe.”