Could Manchester City be expelled from the Premier League?
Unprecedented punishment would need to be agreed by 15 Premier League teams
Manchester City would be a team without anywhere to play if they were expelled from the Premier League and not given entry into the EFL, under one hypothetical punishment.
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The club was found guilty this week of 115 charges of breaching Premier League financial rules over nine years and is set to appeal, having denied any wrongdoing.
From 2009 to 2018, Manchester City was found to have disguised money from its ownership and instead falsely stated that the income had come in from sponsorship, to have paid people without declaring it on its financial records, and to have not complied with the Premier League's investigation.
No punishment has yet been decided, but a hefty fine, transfer ban, removal of ownership, and points deduction are all being discussed, with Everton and Nottingham Forest both being docked points for smaller infractions.
But another option could be expulsion from the Premier League, which is an unprecedented scenario and would be a massive change to the league.
Here is what that would mean.
What does it mean to get expelled from the Premier League?
Being kicked out, or expelled, from the Premier League would mean that the affected club would no longer be allowed to compete in the competition.
It would not be certain where they would play next.
The football league members would then need to vote on whether City should be allowed back into the Championship, or be required to start in League 2, or even at the very bottom of the football pyramid.
The word 'expulsion' is confusing, however, as they would not be out permanently and would be readmitted if they were to win promotion back to the top tier, hypothetically.
How could Manchester City be expelled?
For this to happen, 15 of the 19 other Premier League clubs would need to vote in favour of this punishment.
This has not happened in the Premier League before, but in Scotland in 2012 the country's top flight voted almost unanimously for Rangers to not be allowed back into the SPL under their new identity following liquidation.
Is this likely to happen?
Expelling Manchester City would be a potentially costly option for the Premier League and also damaging for the Championship, experts have said, although the option is a possibility.
A club executive, who did not wish to be named, told Sky that Manchester City being expelled would weaken the league. "If Man City were expelled, that would have massive commercial consequences for everyone in the league, and ultimately it would cost the other clubs an awful lot of money," the executive said.
A top Championship club director added: "The finances are so big they'll just blow the Championship away and go straight back up. So it kills a promotion spot for the other clubs."