As the Man City case develops, Liverpool and the other Premier League teams will be keenly monitoring events. However, no result could ever be entirely just.
In spite of everything, the main topic of discussion—and for good reason—is what will happen to Manchester City, as Everton should easily escape relegation this season, even if it is unable to reverse or lessen the 10-point punishment. The fact that Pep Guardiola’s team is facing 115 times more accusations than Everton is the reason the process is taking so long.
Even while Manchester City maintains that everything is fine, the Premier League or it will seem terrible in the end. If the league can’t withstand those claims, either Manchester City will be deemed to have acted improperly, or the league’s ability to make such a strong case against one of its clubs will be called into question.
It is plausible, however, that years may still elapse before we reach a conclusion. The Everton case took months to resolve, and the Etihad side’s case is far more complicated.
As things stand, Manchester City will probably lose points rather than have their titles retroactively revoked, but considering the seriousness of the accusations, nothing is off the table. However, a harsh precedent has now been set, with 115 charges to Everton’s one.
However severe the punishment, it will not be sufficient if it is determined that Manchester City committed wrongdoing. Even in the case that they are taken away, the titles have already been acclaimed.For example, Liverpool has previously grieved over how it lost the league championship in 2014—during the time when Manchester City was the subject of an investigation. It used the fact that it lost out by one point in 2019 as incentive to improve twelve months later. History cannot be changed in either case.
The truth is that the Reds would hardly feel like winners even if they were granted the league victory. Though in theory Steven Gerrard would have won the league, nothing would have seemed different.
The current precedent would require a significant point deduction in the event of one. Manchester City might receive many times that many points if they receive 10 for a single misdemeanor. However, even it would fall short of making up for the wrongs of the past.
Ironically, titles could be stained for the potential offender and given a meaningful asterisk, unlike the one that many were eager to add to Liverpool’s 2020 success. It would be too little, too late, though, for the Reds, Arsenal, Manchester United, and other teams who have lost out on league titles or Champions League berths.
The one thing that must happen in the future is that it doesn’t come to this again, regardless of the final resolution in the cases involving Chelsea and Manchester City. As you proceed, not years later, your finances and that aspect of the game must be examined; otherwise, there is no punishment that is entirely appropriate and just.