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Manchester City's Financial Fair Play case is still awaiting a verdict, with one expert warning a 60-point deduction is 'logical'

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The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Fantastic football content straight to your inbox! From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more. Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off! Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Manchester City and the Premier League are still awaiting the outcome of an independent hearing into the club's 115 alleged breaches of financial rules. City were charged in early 2023 for the alleged violations of Financial Fair Play regulations, spanning from 2009 to 2018, and the hearing ended in December 2024 - but 14 months later, there is still no official word on when a verdict will be reached. The club have always denied the allegations. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire explained the delay to The Overlap, saying: "I think we're probably into the final reaches of getting a decision. I think part of the challenge has been that there are three very senior people who are making that final judgment. Getting those three together at the same time is actually very difficult. So that's delayed the case. "

Asked about the potential punishments City could face if found guilty, Maguire said: “The Premier League cannot relegate Manchester City to League One or League Two because that is an EFL decision and Manchester City have not had any charges proven against them by the EFL. Therefore, it has to be a points deduction. “If we take a look at precedence, we have had Everton and Nottingham Forest with six and four-point deductions for a single offence covering a three-year period. The accusations against Manchester City cover a nine-year period, so it is far bigger.

“The numbers involved we are not certain about, but they are likely to be quite significant. I think you have to add a zero to what we’ve seen in terms of Forest and Everton, so somewhere between a 40 and 60-point deduction would be, on merit to be consistent with what we’ve seen with other decisions, would make a lot of logic. " In the event that City were handed a 60-point deduction - and it was applied this season - it would impact both ends of the Premier League table. The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week. As things stand, Pep Guardiola's side would fall from 56 points to -4, plunging them from second in the league to rock-bottom. That would remove Arsenal's closest challenger for the title, giving the Gunners a 10-point lead over Aston Villa as they chase their first top-flight crown for 22 years. It would also push Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool up a place to third, fourth and fifth respectively - greatly increasing their chances of qualifying for the Champions League - while Brentford and Bournemouth would move into sixth and seventh, which as things stand would see them play in Europe for the first time in their histories next term, in the Europa League and Conference League respectively.

It could also get interesting at the other end of the table. If City ended up on -4 points, they would still be only 14 behind Wolves, who would move up to 19th, and 23 shy of Burnley. With 11 games remaining, there is a good chance Guardiola's men would overhaul both those teams, while they would be 29 points behind West Ham United, who would rise out of the relegation zone to 17th. Although City would need to win all 11 games and hope the Hammers take no more than 4 points across the rest of the season to stay up, an extended run of victories could see them delay their fate until the final weeks of the campaign. James Roberts is a freelance sports journalist working for Four Four Two. He has spent the past three years as a sports sub-editor for various national newspapers and started his career at the Oxford Mail, where he covered Oxford United home and away. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

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