'The biggest crime you can get' - Man City's 115-charge FFP case compared to Juventus cheating scandal as Pep Guardiola's side are told they're 'not too big' to be punished with relegation

The reigning champions of England have at least 115 charges relating to supposed monetary mismanagement hanging over their head. An independent hearing into misdemeanours that allegedly took place over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018 has reached a conclusion, but no verdict has been delivered as yet – meaning that City are still waiting to discover their punishment.

Serie A giants Juve were demoted as part of the Calciopoli case in 2006, having faced accusations of manipulating match official appointments, and there has been talk of City being stripped of their top-flight status if multiple rule breaches are considered to have taken place.

Ally McCoist knows all about being dropped down divisions having been in charge of Glasgow giants Rangers when they were placed in the Scottish Third Division on the back of entering administration in 2012.

McCoist, speaking in association with talkSPORT BET, told GOAL when asked if City could be hit with similar sanctions: “If they are guilty of all the crimes and the Premier League find a punishment that is fitting… I say crimes, offences. Although some football fans would consider them crimes!

“I’m not going to sit and pre-judge them. However, if they are found guilty of breaking rules and committing these offences, then the punishment should fit the offence. Whether that is getting demoted down to a lower league, I’m not sure. I still believe that it was a very, very harsh thing to do to my football club and I’m not sure anybody benefited from it. Well, certainly clubs down the lower leagues did, when we were turning up to Peterhead and Elgin and the places were sold out.

“As much as it was an experience I will never forget and a really enjoyable one, I’m not sure the punishment fitted the crime. I’m not sure what punishment should be dealt to Manchester City if, and it’s a big if, they are found guilty.”

McCoist went on to say when asked if City are too important to the Premier League brand for them to be stung with the harshest of penalties: “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think anybody is. However, in saying that, you can’t make special cases. If Man United did the same offence, everyone has to be treated the same.

“I remember a few years back in Serie A, Juventus got found guilty of cheating. To me that’s the biggest crime you can get in sport. That was a case where you thought maybe the punishment wasn’t as strict as it should have been. They dropped down a division for a year, into Serie B.

“When you look at what happens with other clubs – I know it’s a different association and all that, you have to find something in between. There is no bigger crime than cheating. Some people might tell me that if Manchester City are found guilty of these offences, that is a form of cheating, but that’s an argument in itself. They are certainly not too big to get the punishment that would come their way if they were found guilty.”

Automatic relegation out of the Premier League is considered to be unlikely in City’s case, as they have been spending big again in the transfer market, but a hefty points deduction and potential recruitment ban continue to be discussed at length ahead of any definitive ruling.