Man City guilty: Ex-City chairman tells board to ‘stand down’ with position untenable after FFP verdict | OneFootball

Former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein has claimed that the club’s board must “stand down” after the guilty FFP verdict.

There has been an angry reaction to the Premier League confirming that Man City have been found guilty on almost all of their FFP charges.

Man City are still insisting on their innocence, but the Premier League’s statement was particularly damning, and the club face huge sanctions if an appeal does not overturn the initial verdict.

Their potential punishments include a fine, transfer ban, points deduction, expulsion and/or being stripped of their Premier League titles, but there are more possible consequences for the club and individuals.

Bernstein has argued that Man City’s board of directors now have little choice but to “stand down” if this verdict remains after an appeal.

“I can’t think of a penalty strong enough for this, really. I mean, this is absolutely terrible,” Bernstein told talkSPORT.

“I want to raise another question, and that is the position of the board of directors. Because the directors of the club, including the chief executive, who’s been there for years and went through this through this period, are responsible for the running of the club in every respect.

“And again, if this was a public company of some sort, I think the directors with something as serious as this, would have to stand down or be suspended pending the outcome of all this… appeal or no appeal.

“I don’t think the present management can credibly continue. Now, I doubt if the Abu Dhabi owners would be very happy with that possibility.”

“This is beyond awful…”

Bernstein is also wary that one scenario would be the “worst thing for everybody”, with this case considered “beyond awful”.

“What credibility can a board of directors have who’ve been involved in systematic abuse over a long period?” Bernstein added.

“You feel sorry for the City fans. I am a City fan of 70 years. I’ve supported the club. So this is, you know, I find this really doubly hard.

“I don’t know the answer. And part of the reason is that until we understand where we are with the appeal process, you know, we don’t know whether something’s going to be imposed quickly or what.”

He continued: “If this got settled now, you could see one source scenario and set of penalties.

“But if it drags on for a year or two, heaven forbid, that would be the worst thing for everybody. But if it did, then you’d have a different situation. So it’s a little difficult to predict. But all I would say is that money is not sufficient now.

“But if this, if these charges stand now and let’s say the appeal does not happen or fails, then I’m afraid for the club I love that they’ve got to come out of the Premier League. This is beyond awful.”