Manchester City could reach Champions League despite possible relegation, football figures fear

Manchester City could play in next season’s Champions League even if relegated from the Premier League, senior figures in English football told BBC Sport in a report published on 7 October. The concern centres on a conditional route: winning this season’s Champions League would give City a place as titleholders despite a domestic sanction. City has appealed a finding that it breached financial rules; neither relegation nor European entry has been decided.

BBC Sport said it was told there is no automatic mechanism to remove a club from a European competition for which it qualifies on sporting merit. That account describes a possible gap between domestic punishment and European admission. It is not a UEFA ruling that City would be allowed to play, and the reported concern comes from unnamed senior figures rather than an announced decision by a football authority.

How Manchester City could qualify for Europe

A Premier League points deduction could prevent City from qualifying through its league position, BBC Sport reported. Winning the Champions League would offer the titleholder route at the centre of the current concern. The report also identified domestic cup routes: an FA Cup win could bring a Europa League place, while a Carabao Cup win could bring a Conference League place. Each route depends on results that have not happened.

Those possibilities matter because a Premier League sanction and entry to a UEFA competition are separate questions. BBC Sport reported that figures it spoke to were concerned City might receive a strong domestic sanction yet still compete in Europe and receive the associated financial rewards. The report said City was scheduled to face Brighton in the Carabao Cup fourth round on 28 October; that fixture establishes an upcoming cup path, not a European place.

What UEFA admission and licensing require

According to BBC Sport, the licensing process uses current information and does not take account of sanctions or breaches for historical offences in the way some officials might expect. The report identified overdue payments to other clubs, players or tax authorities among potential grounds for refusal. One source told the BBC that the grounds for refusing City a licence were unclear. That is an attributed assessment, not a formal decision on City’s application.

UEFA’s rules allow questions about licensing or integrity criteria to be referred to its Club Financial Control Body and questions about other admission criteria to its disciplinary bodies. BBC Sport reported that UEFA cannot act while the Premier League disciplinary process continues, although possible scenarios may be discussed by UEFA officials and the control body. The cited reporting establishes no UEFA case, licence refusal or exclusion decision against City.

The Premier League verdict and City's appeal

In its 29 September statement, the Premier League said an independent commission found City guilty of all charges concerning serious financial rule breaches across nine seasons, from 2009-10 to 2017-18, and most charges concerning failure to cooperate with the league’s investigation. The league said the commission found that City had failed to report income and expenditure accurately for both Premier League and UEFA financial rules. The findings are subject to the club’s appeal.

BBC Sport reported that the commission found sponsorship revenue had been inflated by about £830 million through sham contracts and that another £90 million in expenses had been hidden. The Premier League described arrangements that it said made the club’s finances appear to comply with spending limits. City denies wrongdoing. Those findings explain why a potential domestic sanction is being discussed, but they do not establish what punishment the club will receive.

The Associated Press reported that City appealed on 1 October and said the commission’s opinion contained material errors and was unsafe. AP reported that no punishment had yet been imposed and that possible sanctions range from a reprimand or fine to a points deduction or expulsion. The sanction will be considered separately. As a result, the question of relegation remains hypothetical, as does its effect on any qualification route.

When a decision may come

AP reported that an appeal hearing should take place within 12 weeks of the filing. BBC Sport said the sanction hearing had not been scheduled and that the complete process, potentially including an appeal against a sanction, might not finish by the end of the season. The BBC also reported uncertainty over whether new Premier League timetable clauses apply to City’s case. There is consequently no established date for a final domestic outcome in the cited accounts.

A previous UEFA case shows why the competitions’ processes should be distinguished. AP reported that UEFA banned City from its club competitions for two seasons in February 2020, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned that ban in July 2020 after finding some allegations unproven and others time-barred. It upheld a fine for failure to cooperate. That earlier outcome does not decide eligibility under the present verdict and appeal.

For now, the confirmed development is concern about a possible route into Europe if City both receives a severe domestic sanction and qualifies through a competition. The appeal, any punishment, results on the pitch and UEFA admission procedures all remain relevant. None of the cited records establishes that City will be relegated, qualify for Europe or be denied a licence.