Following Everton’s recent FFP punishment, an unprecedented punishment in the Premier League, many football around the country and in the sporting world in general and wondering what might happen to Manchester City — or, in some cases, why something hasn’t happened already.
The Toffees saw a record 10-point deduction in the top-flight table as a result of breaking UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations following a league-wide audit of the clubs’ records for the 2021/22 season, in which they were found to have breached profit and sustainability rules.
Everton are said to have posted losses of nearly £372 million over a three-year period — a whole £250m more than is permitted within the league guidelines — and while they are obviously appealing the case based on various mitigating factors, it has placed one big elephant back in the room: Man City.
Burnley, Leeds, Leicester and Southampton, who were all relegated in recent seasons, could also be set to sue the Merseyside club for suffering as a result of their infringements, but with the Blues’ mammoth list of charges still looming large, it begs the question why hasn’t their case been dealt with first?
🚨 BREAKING: Everton handed 10-point penalty after independent commission hearing on alleged breach of Premier League profit & sustainability rules. Punishment applies immediately so #EFC drop into relegation zone for now. Expected to appeal @TheAthleticFChttps://t.co/1RqDpFYCpJ
Everton’s points deduction likely doesn’t spell good news for City.
While the storm might be circling around Goodison Park at present, with Everton now on just four points and second from bottom as we approach Christmas, the City Football Group (CFG) still has 115 charges said to span nearly a decade to their name and little action has been taken.
Having been flagged for breaches back in February, a month before Everton’s finances were first referred to an independent commission, not to mention Manchester United having been swiftly fined for a minor FFP breach of their own, there does seem to be an issue with parity.
It’s also worth reminding that City were already punished by UEFA back in 2020, being slapped with a €30m fine and a two-year ban from the Champions League, only for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the decision.
The news has also drummed up talk of the failed Super League and how the clubs involved merely got a bit of a telling-off.
Well, the short answer is that Manchester City and the CFG haven’t been found guilty of anything, at least not yet. Whatever punishment they may or may not receive remains unknown as the investigation into their litany of charges is still ongoing and will likely take some time to reach its conclusion.
After all, compared to examining some bookkeeping discrepancies across three years, we’re talking about more than 100 different charges over the course of nine years and, for context, the last investigation (of which they were cleared) took around four years.
With that in mind, when taking into account the equally lengthy appeal processes that will be involved as well, as the club has insisted they are not guilty of the various UEFA breaches they are accused of, you can expect this case to rumble on for a quite while longer.
Moreover, if they are indeed found guilty, the process of going about punishment will prove to be even more complicated as how do you possibly go about deciding on a fair outcome and adequate compensation for other teams affected over such a lengthy period?
Before Everton’s points deduction, co-hosts Lineker and Shearer also had a lengthy discussion about FFP and the implications for City.
Sporting Intelligence journalist and football finance expert, Nick Harris, recently gave a lengthy explanation on The Rest is Football podcast, insisting that “there is just so much work that needed to be done to get to the point of charging them.”
Harris went on to add that “the other reason it has taken so long is because Man City have done what they can to stifle the process.
“In 2021 we were investigating what was happening with this case and, eventually, as a journalist I was able to get access to the high court and be able to report the process was ongoing when neither the Premier League nor Manchester City wanted it to be reported.
“What that told us was that Man City were using every legal tool they could to draw this out as long as possible and even since they were charged in February; they for example have challenged the legitimacy of the Premier League even to act against them which in itself is taking months to even get to the point where a commission will sit down and look at the evidence.”
So, the fact of the matter is that regardless of frustration amongst rival fans, neutrals and Toffees supporters, in particular, it looks like this already long, drawn-out case will very much be a waiting game.
Whether Everton’s points deduction is just a small taster of what’s to come for City remains to be seen but it seems hard to imagine the club possibly walking away with a slap on the wrist like last time.
When the news first began circulating, we broke down what the possible repercussions could be but, if found guilty, what do you think would be a fitting punishment?
Rugby Football League to merge second and third divisions from next year
Danny Jones
The Rugby Football League (RFL) has officially announced that it will be combining the Championship and League One divisions next year as part of a larger restructuring.
Besides the push for phasing out automatic promotion and relegation with the top flight, these will be among the biggest changes in the RFL since the creation of the Super League.
Revealing their plans earlier this week, the rugby authority confirmed that the second and third-tier divisions will be merging, with the changes set to be implemented from 2026 onwards.
You can see the statement in full down below, which has been met with a mix of
Confirmed in a lengthier statement online this past Wednesday, 27 August, the update reads: “The RFL Board have confirmed that the Betfred Championship and League One competitions will be combined in a single division outside the Betfred Super League (BSL) in 2026.
“This follows the decision to expand Super League from 12 clubs to 14, subject to conditions – which was taken by the existing Super League clubs last month.
“A number of fixture formats are being developed following consultation with the Championship and League One clubs, but there will be no final announcement until after the number and identity of clubs in each of the two expanded competitions is confirmed, on Thursday, October 16.
“However, the reversion to a single division outside Super League means the Middle Eights that had been scheduled for the end of the 2025 season, as a means of determining promotion and relegation between Championship and League One, will no longer take place.”
It’s also worth noting that these changes will also see the proposed Super 8s end-of-season fixtures scrapped, as the 12 teams set to compete in the playoff-style tournament are obviously now being combined into one league moving forward.
The Super 8s competition that would involve the top four League One clubs and the bottom four Championship clubs has been abandoned by the Rugby Football League.
It is highly expected that the Championship and League One will merge into one big division of 21 teams next season… pic.twitter.com/WDkshjYTS2
As detailed in the latest communication from the RFL, the League One champions’ prize of £25,000, as well as the usual trophy and medals promised at the start of the season, are still up for grabs; the Championship Play-Offs will still also take place as scheduled.
The winners of the Betfred Championship Grand Final are to receive £100k and 0.25 club grading points.
Commenting on the impending overhaul, Rugby League Commercial Chair Nigel Wood OBE – who headed up the latest strategic review – said: “Following the decision of the Betfred Super League clubs that the elite competition should expand to 14 clubs in 2026, subject to conditions, this is a logical and equally exciting next step.
“The Championship and L1 clubs have been extensively consulted and were virtually unanimous that the two divisional structure for the part-time game wasn’t working as well as it ought, particularly League One – and it is a great credit to the Championship clubs that they recognised that position.”
Reiterating the belief that this is the best way to support and promote “historic and ambitious clubs” outside of the BSL, helping boost attendances, finances and hopefully future investment. It remains a touchy subject for some, though.
The RFL merging divisions may not yet even matter for some.
Speaking of clubs looking for further backing, questions remain over the vetting process for investors and the ‘fit and proper persons tests’ in both rugby and football, especially with the ongoing crisis at Salford Red Devils.
With all that being said, while everyone will have the chance to win the new Championship and perhaps Super League promotion, the likes of Salford are just trying to stay afloat.
Regardless, what do you make of the RFL merging the Championship and League, and do you think it’s the right step for the future of rugby league?
Ruben Amorim has explained why he refused to watch Man United’s penalty shootout against Grimsby
Danny Jones
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has explained the reason why he didn’t watch his team’s penalty shootout against Grimsby Town as they crashed out of the EFL Carabao Cup.
It was yet another night to forget for Man United as the Premier League outfit conceded the first two goals against the League Two side in a fixture that hadn’t been played since 1947.
Even a late comeback through new signing Bryan Mbuemo and Harry Maguire’s late header – an increasingly frequent scenario, it would seem – wasn’t enough to spare their blushes, as the Carabao‘s straight-to-penalties format meant that they couldn’t even rely on extra time.
You already know the rest, and if you were watching on telly, you will have seen head coach Ruben Amorim rocking back and forth as he refused to watch his squad’s spot-kicks. Like the rest of the game, it’s not gone down as a particularly great look.
Unbelievable that a Man Utd manager can’t bring himself to watch the penalties against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup. Where’s the leadership? Cunha got a high five from Onana before his pen… Just get on with it
While there were plenty at home who felt similar reluctance to watch the pens, many supporters have been left understandably frustrated by the Portuguese head coach’s behaviour, accusing him of a lack of leadership.
Admittedly, it doesn’t project great optics, especially given all the talk of ‘storms clearing’ and ‘good days coming’ spouted via club media in recent weeks and months.
However, the 40-year-old has at least given some reasoning for not watching his players take a total of 12 penalties, though we’ll leave it up to the fans.
Speaking to ITV in one of the few post-match interviews he conducted on Wednesday evening, Amorim said: “The penalty shootout was not important, if I’m there trying to see if we win the game, it doesn’t matter. The beginning of the game, during the game, that’s what mattered.
“If we win this game, it’s so unfair on these guys – the opponents. So today, the football was fair; congratulations to them. We move on to the next game, and then we have time to decide things.”
You see Amorim’s post-match interview with ITV in full right here:
"I think the players spoke really loudly about what they want today."
"I just want to apologise to our fans."
"Something has to change and you're not going to change 22 players again."
As you can see, he went on to explain that he was “not thinking about the penalties, to go to the next stage”, choosing instead to add that his side “spoke really loud about what they want today. It’s really clear, I think it’s really clear to everybody what happened today.”
Being probed further on the precise meaning of this turn of phrase, he told multiple reporters that “a good team can win anything”, suggesting instead that those he fielded were, in the end, merely a collection of players who failed to chime with each other.
Many would argue this has been a common theme not only since he joined the club, but for the last few managers who have taken charge at Old Trafford.
Besides that, he signed off by insisting that there was little he could say to soften the blow of the result, besides apologising to them directly and adding, “something has to change, and you’re not going to change 22 players again.”
Be it as a begrudging Red, an amused rival, or just a neutral, you can either hate-watch or simply study the shocking defeat on what was a historic night for some very happy Grimsby fans down below.
Amorim may not have wanted to sit through the penalty shootout, but MUFC weren’t great to watch in regulation time either.
Danny Jones -
20th November 2023 
