MANCHESTER — A number of Premier League clubs want Manchester City to be hit with both retrospective punishments and future sanctions for mass financial rule-breaking if their appeal fails, after an independent commission found the eight-time Premier League champions guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. City have appealed against the verdict, but sources have told BBC Sport there is a consensus among a group of top-flight executives that sanctions must make reparations for the period when they broke the rules while also limiting their powers in future.
There is understood to be nuance in what clubs consider a fitting penalty, yet at least four Premier League boardrooms feel a "one-hit" points deduction resulting in relegation to the Championship would be an insufficient punishment given the severity of the wrongdoing. One senior club source said City should be stripped of their titles and added there was "no great rush" among clubs to push for the redistribution of trophies, but rather to take honours away and leave them vacant, warning the credibility of the Premier League would be lost if City were allowed to keep the eight major trophies they won during the period they have been found guilty. However, in a sign of a range of opinions across the league, BBC Sport was previously told there was little appetite among other clubs for City to be stripped of titles.
Regarding future sanctions, there is concern among executives that a penalty applied to just one season would merely provide City with a "bump in the road" given the likelihood of them returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking. A number of figures therefore believe any points deduction should be split over multiple seasons, while there is also a sense that transfer bans stretching over a number of windows would significantly hinder City's ability to regain their top-flight status as quickly as possible. One club source said it would be "bizarre, almost obtuse" if City were able to trade in the upcoming January transfer window if the process is ongoing and sanctions have not been applied.
Some clubs cited feeling "in the dark" regards the Premier League, including around the chronology and timescales of the appeal and the sanctions hearing, though sources said there was "empathy" and "understanding" about the difficult position the league is in given the gravity of the situation and the ongoing legal process. On financial reparations, one idea mooted — which a club source found "merit" in — was a "tariff-based system" whereby City's past league finishing positions would be altered via a points deduction and rival clubs could then be paid compensation by City based on where they would have finished versus where they did finish.
BBC Sport understands Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca will speak to players collectively after they arrive back from international duty on Thursday, before their Premier League match against Liverpool on Sunday (16:30 BST) at Anfield, their first game since news of the verdict broke. Merseyside Police says it has received queries in relation to the match and said it will have "an appropriate policing operation in place on the day", while sources at Liverpool have told BBC Sport it is a case of "business as usual" with no extra measures being put in place. One source said while everyone "has the right to express their feelings" they hoped supporters would not overstep the mark. The fallout comes as scrutiny of City's finances has intensified following Man City's £830m scandal putting Manchester United's £852m debt in spotlight.