"The sanctions must not be only financial in nature, they must go far beyond that. If the club's appeal fails, City cannot remain in the league," Bernstein told the British BBC.
Before Bernstein's interview, the Premier League had announced that ManCity had been found guilty on most of the charges over serious breaches of financial regulations from 2009 to 2018. The range of penalties includes severe sanctions, from a heavy fine to forced relegation or the stripping of several titles.
Assessing the events involving the former Champions League winners, Bernstein, City chairman from 1998 to 2003 and later head of the English FA for two years, did not hold back. "It is very, very serious. I think it is dreadful. This is about a football club that is part of a league, and the entire credibility of the league is at stake," said the 83-year-old: "This is a deeply rooted form of fraud, and if that is the case, this is something so serious that it goes beyond the football authorities."