Man City expulsion vote?! How many clubs would need to back demotion in FFP case with Premier League unable to remove reigning champions

The reigning champions of England remain locked in a Financial Fair Play battle that sees as many as 130 charges hanging over the Etihad Stadium. City have maintained their innocence throughout, but are still waiting on a verdict at the end of an independent hearing.

Various punishments have been speculated on, ranging from hefty points deductions to transfer embargoes. Premier League rules dictate that no club can be cast out of the top tier, but an expulsion poll could be conducted if that recommendation were to be put forward to a special meeting of shareholders.

If that were to be the case, then 75 per cent of those given a vote would need to back the decision to drop City into the EFL ranks in order for the proposal to be pushed through. Such events remain purely speculative for now.

Aaryaman Banjeri, head of football governance at Lane Clark & Peacock, has told The i Paper: "The issue of whether Manchester City might be expelled from the Premier League is a complex one. Rule B6 of the Premier League’s Handbook stipulates that, in order to trigger the expulsion of one of its members, clubs would have to vote as part of a Special Resolution.

"This would require 15 clubs to vote in favour of expulsion. It will be instructive to see whether the Independent Commission is held to this requirement, or whether this might be worked around, so that the Commission can itself impose such a sanction."

With 47 points to their name at present, City would have to be hit with a deduction of 31 or more in order to drop them into the Premier League relegation zone. They still have 10 games left this season, with it unclear whether their long-running FFP saga will be concluded before the 2024-25 campaign comes to a close – with any appeals needing to be factored into the equation.