Former Arsenal and England midfielder Paul Merson has called for Manchester City to be stripped of the trophies they won during the period covered by the club’s financial-rule breaches.
Merson made the call after an independent Premier League commission found City guilty of serious breaches of the league’s financial regulations between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Merson said the club’s titles should be removed from the record, arguing that future generations should not look back at City’s dominance without knowing about the financial-rule breaches.
“I think that’s the first thing. Take all their trophies away,” Merson said.
City won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cups, and one Community Shield during the period covered by the commission’s findings.
The commission found that City used “sham” commercial contracts to artificially increase revenues and reduce costs, while also submitting inaccurate accounts and breaching Premier League and UEFA spending limits. The league said the disguised funding scheme involved about £830 million.
However, no punishment has been announced yet. City have strongly denied the findings and are due to appeal the verdict by October 2.
The eventual sanctions will be determined separately from the verdict.
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