English football was rocked this week after the Independent Commission found Manchester City guilty of breaching all serious financial charges in a legal battle with the Premier League.
Manchester City have appealed, and a separate appeals commission will decide in the next 12 weeks. But the club can still face sanctions even before the appeal is decided.
A separate sanctions commission is expected to hear both sides soon, and Manchester City could be relegated or even expelled from the Premier League.
Manchester City’s relegation could be confirmed if they are deducted a large number of points, but expulsion will require a vote by the Premier League board.
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Leeds United hold a key vote on the board
If the Independent Commission feels Manchester City should be outright expelled from the Premier League, it would require a vote by the league’s board and a two-thirds majority.
15 clubs would have to vote in favour of expelling Manchester City from the Premier League for the sanction to be imposed.
Some suggest it could be hard to find those 15 votes, as several clubs may not want to be that harsh on Manchester City.
Such a vote would make every club’s opinion increasingly important, and Leeds could end up having a huge say in Manchester City’s future.
If such a sanction is imposed, the Leeds board would have to sit down and decide whether to vote for or against Manchester City’s expulsion.
If the Premier League board’s vote were close, the Leeds hierarchy’s decision could go a long way toward deciding the Citizens’ future in the league.
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How should Leeds vote?
If an independent commission recommends Manchester City’s expulsion, Leeds should approach the subsequent vote on principle, not self-interest.
The commission has already found City guilty of 114 of 115 charges, including serious financial breaches, misleading accounts and failures to cooperate with the Premier League.
Leeds should therefore vote for expulsion, if the commission’s recommendation survives any appeal.
This is not about punishing City for being successful. It is about whether the Premier League’s rules actually mean something. Expulsion would be an extraordinary sanction, but so would the scale and nature of the breaches the commission found. The Premier League’s rules require a three-quarters majority of members voting for expulsion, meaning 15 clubs would need to back it.
For Leeds, the message should be simple: sporting success cannot come at the expense of competitive integrity.
