The Prime Minister steps in! Burnham responds to calls to strip City's titles
The Manchester City case has reached the highest level: Prime Minister Andy Burnham has weighed in on the calls to strip the club of its titles.
Details: Asked whether City should lose their Premier League crowns after being found guilty on 114 of 115 charges, Burnham urged caution: "I would have to look at the report of the independent commission, and people shouldn't jump to those kinds of conclusions. I know this has been a long process between the club and the Premier League. I think it's quite a contested process. So I don't think it's as simple as jumping to conclusions."
The Prime Minister stressed that everyone would need to study the commission's report in considerable detail before reaching any conclusions. His intervention underlines just how enormous this story has become: a football disciplinary case is now being discussed in the political arena. City, meanwhile, maintain the case remains ongoing and are preparing an appeal, while rival fans across England demand the harshest possible sporting sanctions, including the stripping of titles won during the nine year period covered by the charges. Burnham's words will calm some and infuriate others, but they confirm one thing: this saga has outgrown sport entirely.
It's worth noting that stripping titles would be unprecedented in Premier League history and legally explosive, which is exactly why even the country's most senior figures are choosing their words with extreme care. The commission's report, whenever it is published in full, will be the most scrutinized document in English football.
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Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
