Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Newcastle United may have found a new path to remaining in the top five of the Premier League table.
On Monday, Feb. 6, it was reported that Manchester City had violated financial restrictions and rules set in place by the Premier League.
The Premier League confirmed that breaches were made between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons after a four-year investigation took place. Manchester City was reported as being hesitant and unwilling to cooperate with officials during that investigation.
Just weeks ago at the end of January, Juventus, a team that competes in the Serie A league, was hit with a 15-point penalty that knocked them down the league standings drastically. Before the penalty, they sat third in the league, after the penalty they fell to the middle of the table.
With that information being known, it is likely that a similar fate may hit Etihad Stadium and The Sky Blues.
If Manchester City were to get knocked down the Premier League ladder, Newcastle United who sits in fourth would move back up to third place. This would also give the Magpies some breathing room as the teams outside of the Top 5 have had their fair share of ups and downs.
Newcastle sits with 40 points in fourth place, and sixth place Brighton has just 34 points, giving Newcastle a two-game lead at least. Losing Manchester City inside the Top 5 slides Brighton into fifth place, and knocks City out of the running for a Champions League appearance.
When Juventus was knocked down, their run for the Champions League was immediately halted and looks unlikely as the season approaches the finish line.
The same could be said for Manchester City if the same punishment were to be applied.
If the Premier League instills a 15-point penalty, that will knock them down to 12th place at 27 points, 13 points below Newcastle and seven points behind the team that would be in 5th place.
Other punishments could see relegation, which would be the first time they have been below the Premier League since the 2001-2002 season. A 20-year Premier League stand for The Sky Blues may be coming to a close.
But what is the most likely punishment?
A violation this large and this important will see no less than a droppage in points for Manchester City. With Juventus receiving their 15-point loss just weeks ago, the pressure is going to be on the Premier League to respond quickly and with an accurate punishment.
I would expect to see Manchester City receive a punishment similar to what Juventus received, with relegation seeming very extreme. Removing a club from an entire league and punishing the players and fans for internal issues is a bit of an overreaction.
Fines and a loss of points suites the financial violations the most.
This would most certainly help Newcastle United out at clinching an appearance in the Champions League as the 2022-2023 season comes to a close.
However, I would expect to see a full release from the Premier League within the week now that the news has broken into headlines across the UK.