Former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein believes financial punishment won’t be enough if the club is found guilty of Premier League rule breaches. According to ESPN sources, City are expected to be found guilty on the majority of charges of financial breaches in their legal case with the Premier League.
City didn’t deny the guilty verdicts and revealed that the process “remains ongoing.” Premier League, on the other hand, has refused to comment on the current situation. The charges date back to the 2009-10 season and City have won many titles since then.
Bernstein urged the Cityzens to deal with case as soon as they can.
David Bernstein told Times Radio: “I felt absolutely awful, I felt in shock yesterday, actually. I think you’ve asked me on the programme because of my time as chair of City and the FA, but basically I’m a fan of Manchester City and have been a fan for 70 years.
“It’s really awful that this great period of success, which followed many years of being less successful, when I was chair I think I helped get the club out of a very difficult period and started the road to better things.
“But to see all this tarnished in this way is very sad, I feel particularly bad for the wonderful supporters of the club who’ve stayed with the club through thick and thin. It’s a pretty bad day I think for the fans in blue of Manchester.”
When asked what the correct punishment would be, Bernstein said: “First of all, the timing of this I think is crucial. This whole process has taken too long already.
“So the appeal process now has to be done quickly because… You’ve got the club playing with this cloud over its head and it’s just not viable.
“The appeal process cannot go on for year after year, I think that would be a disaster. Not just for this particular case but for English football generally. The timing is crucial.
“I can’t give a view on the punishment. If they are found, after the appeal, guilty of 115 charges, my beloved club is going to face a very severe penalty.
“All I would say is that money is not sufficient, it would have to be something, unfortunately, more drastic than that.”
Manchester City are currently at the top of the Premier League standings with five wins in as many games.
