Exile to the “dead zone”! Former Premier League boss proposes elaborate punishment for Manchester City

England’s football community continues to debate the ideal punishment for financial wrongdoing.

Details: A former Premier League executive has shared an original idea for imposing sanctions on Manchester City. In his view, a standard one-off fine or a single points deduction would not have the desired deterrent effect after the wide-ranging investigation into breaches of financial regulations.

The proposal would see the club docked between 20 and 25 Premier League points every season for three to five consecutive years. In purely theoretical terms, this would make Champions League qualification impossible for the team, leaving it stuck for an extended period in a kind of “dead zone” right in the middle of the league table.

Such prolonged isolation from European competition would deliver a devastating blow to the club’s commercial revenue, sponsorship deals and ability to retain global stars. At the same time, this option would spare the league from having to expel the club from the football pyramid, preserving the status of the competition while depriving the team of the fruits of its years of dominance.

It is worth noting that on September 25, 2026, an independent commission found Manchester City guilty on 114 of 115 charges, while the official decision on specific sporting and disciplinary sanctions will be announced once all procedural steps have been completed.

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