Manchester City and Chelsea run the risk of relegation from the Premier League after Everton’s 10-point deduction set a powerful precedent, according to a former financial advisor to the champions.
The Toffees have been left reeling by the deduction, which plunges them to second bottom of the table, and plan to launch an appeal.
City face 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules and Chelsea could face scrutiny over alleged payments connected to former owner Roman Abramovich.
Stefan Borson, a lawyer who has advised City, tweeted after Everton’s news broke on Friday: ‘Without seeing the judgement/award -10 points for Everton feels harsh for a straightforward FFP [Financial Fair Play] breach to me.
‘But reinforces that sanctions against City [if proven] and now Chelsea [if charged and admitted on the off-books payments] will be potentially relegation inducing.’
A former financial advisor to Manchester City, Stefan Borson, has raised the prospect that Manchester City could be relegated for their 115 alleged financial breaches
Chelsea could be handed a points deduction after leaked files revealed a string of payments that may have breached strict football rules during Roman Abramovich’s ownership
Borson tweeted that City – and potentially Chelsea – could face heavy sanctions, including relegation from the Premier League following the Everton points deduction precedent
Borson added that Chelsea may have to reappraise their transfer strategy with regards to Premier League Profitability and Sustainability rules after the Everton verdict
Borson added: ‘One thing is for sure, given the scale of this sporting sanction, Chelsea’s calculus [in my opinion] that they could breach PL P&S [Profit and Sustainability] and just take a fine as a cost of doing business, must be in urgent and immediate reconsideration.
‘The January window may be interesting. Even in the best case, they can no longer rely on being able to convince an Independent Commission to accept their Covid and Sanctions allowances as exceptional adjustments [to the extent that was the plan].’
Back in February after City were charged with 115 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules regarding sponsors and contracts across a nine-year time span, Borson spoke of relegation being a potential sanction if they were found guilty.
He tweeted then: ‘Alarmist or not, the sheer extent of the PL charges are at a level that IF found proven, must lead to relegation.’
Mail Sport journalist Nick Harris responded: ‘Stefan is a former financial adviser to Man City, a Man City fan, a former banker, current lawyer, CEO & general counsel to a PLC dealing with allegations of historic accounting issues. Also well across FFP issues. So this is an interesting view.’
More to follow.
City are accused of breaching financial rules more than 100 times in nine seasons (Sheikh Mansour pictured speaking with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak)
If found guilty, Man City (Erling Haaland pictured) could face a points deduction or expulsion
