Gary Neville believes the ownership group at Manchester City will find it very difficult to “retain their status” at the club should the Premier League’s ruling over financial breaches still stand following appeal. The club confirmed on Friday that it has lodged a “comprehensive” appeal to refute the guilty verdict handed down by an independent commission, detailing large-scale financial rule breaking over a nine-year period.
City have protested their innocence throughout the long-running case, which dates back to 2018 and reached a milestone on Tuesday, when the Premier League published their determination that the club were “guilty of all charges related to serious breaches”.
According to the Premier League, potential sanctions could include a fine, points deduction or, in the worst possible case, expulsion from the competition.
But Neville, a co-owner of Salford City in the EFL, says the only appropriate course of action would be to review whether City’s owners adhere to the regulatory vetting laws set out by the league, adding their alleged actions have “dragged English football through the mud”.