Why Man City could be kicked out of the Premier League

Happy Friday, folks.

As you know, there is no Premier League this weekend or next. But the league still managed to produce the biggest headline of the week without a ball being kicked. Let’s check out what happened.

Here's what's on tap today:

• ⚖️ Man City's momentous court ruling, and what it actually means

• 🌍 The international break: Klopp vs Xavi, Ronaldo’s countdown and a brand-new USMNT

• 🍺 A festival beer with Harry Kane

🥃 TOP SHELF

Man City guilty on 114 financial rules charges

Imagine the NFL announcing that the most dominant team of the last decade had broken the league's money rules for nine straight seasons.

That's roughly what has happened in the Premier League today.

According to The Athletic's David Ornstein, an independent panel has found Manchester City guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought by the Premier League. The punishment could range from a fine to points deductions, stripped titles, or even being kicked out of the league.

The case has dragged on for three and a half years, and most people at my bar still couldn't tell you what City are actually accused of. So let's pour it out from the start.

"Joe, what did City actually do?"

It's about money. More specifically, how City reported it. The Premier League doesn't have a salary cap. Instead, it limits how much money a club can lose.

The idea is that clubs should mostly spend what they earn from tickets, TV deals and sponsors. Otherwise, a billionaire owner could keep pumping in cash and simply buy the league. Think of it as a spending limit tied to your income, rather than one flat cap for everyone.

The accusation

In 2008, City were bought by Sheikh Mansour, a member of Abu Dhabi's royal family. Within a few years, they went from a mid-table club to the best team in England.

The Premier League's case is that City didn't give an accurate picture of their finances for nine seasons, from 2009 to 2018. That includes their income, their sponsorship deals, and what they paid players and managers.

In plain English, the league believes City made their income look bigger and their costs look smaller than they really were by paying people through different companies and inflating sponsorship deals. Bigger income means you're allowed to spend more. The bar version: it's like a regular telling me his dad's credit card is his paycheck, so I'll let his tab run higher.

"Why 115? That seems like a lot."

It's not 115 separate crimes. It's a handful of alleged offenses, counted for every season they happened. Roughly half are about inaccurate financial information. Another 35 are for not cooperating with the investigation.

City have always denied all of it, and insist their evidence clears them. They've been here before, too. In 2020, UEFA banned them from the Champions League for two years over similar accusations. City won their appeal, and the ban was overturned.

What happens now?

Honestly? Nobody knows yet. There are three things to watch:

1. The punishment. It hasn't been decided yet.

2. The appeal. City are expected to appeal, which could drag this out for months.

3. The trophies. City won three titles during the period in question: 2012, 2014 and 2018. If those are stripped, Liverpool (runners-up in 2014) and Manchester United (runners-up in 2012 and 2018) will be very interested.

For context, Everton and Nottingham Forest were both docked points in the 2023-24 season for much smaller breaches.

"They always pick on the little guy. Does this actually change anything this season though?"

Not yet. City keep playing, and nothing changes in the table or the record books until the punishment is decided and any appeal is over.

City fans, I feel for you. You weren't in the boardroom, and this has hung over every trophy for years. Unfortunately, it isn't going away anytime soon.

🗣️ SOUND LIKE A REGULAR

"Three Lions"

/θriː ˈlaɪənz/ 🔊

noun · soccer

Definition: England's national team nickname, taken from the three lions on their badge. You'll hear it all weekend, as in "the Three Lions host Spain at Wembley." It's also a song English fans will not stop singing.

Origin: The lions come from England's royal coat of arms, which dates back to King Richard the Lionheart in the 1190s. A 1996 song of the same name, recorded for the European Championship in England, turned it into a stadium anthem.

Used in a sentence: "Spain are world champions, and the Three Lions haven't won a major trophy since 1966. Every English guy at my bar still thinks Saturday is the start of something."

🗞️ THE WEEKLY TAP-IN…

Yesterday’s results

🇳🇱 Netherlands 1-1 Germany 🇩🇪

Two of the biggest names in club coaching made their international debuts, against each other.

Jürgen Klopp, who won the Champions League and the Premier League with Liverpool, took over Germany in July after their World Cup exit to Paraguay. Xavi, the Barcelona legend, got the Netherlands job in August.

Germany led through Felix Nmecha until the 92nd minute, when Cody Gakpo volleyed in an equalizer. Arsenal fans, look away: Kai Havertz limped off injured after half an hour.

Why it matters: Coaching a country is a strange gig. You see your players for a few weeks a year, and you can't sign anyone. It's like an NFL head coach who only gets his roster for training camp and the playoffs. Both coaches will take a draw while they figure it out.

Elsewhere

• 🇳🇴 Norway 3-2 Denmark: Erling Haaland scored twice, including the winner, after Denmark fought back from 2-0 down. Ronaldo, you've been warned.

• 🇬🇷 Greece 2-1 Serbia: Greece won away to open their group, which also includes Germany and the Netherlands.

• 🇦🇹 Austria 3-1 Israel: Two late goals gave Austria the win after a questionable red-card goal celebration from Israel’s Saied Abu Farchi.

• 🇽🇰 Kosovo 1-0 Republic of Ireland: The less said here the better…

Ronaldo's countdown to 1,000: 21 to go

Cristiano Ronaldo is 41 and chasing a number nobody has ever reached: 1,000 official career goals. He went into Thursday's game against Wales on 979. He came out of it on 979.

🇵🇹 Portugal 1-0 Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Ronaldo had seven shots, missed a sitter from close range and had a goal ruled out by VAR before being subbed after 67 minutes. His Al-Nassr teammate João Félix won it with a deflected long-range strike.

Wrexham fans might have spotted a familiar face in the Wales goal: Danny Ward, making only his second appearance of the season.

Why it matters: New Portugal coach Jorge Jesus has said Ronaldo will have to earn his minutes, and reckons goal 1,000 is more likely to come for Al-Nassr than for Portugal. Sunday in Oslo, against a Haaland who just scored twice, is a good time to prove him wrong.

🇺🇸 USMNT: new cycle, new faces

The USMNT play on Saturday for the first time since the World Cup, and the roster looks nothing like it did in the summer.

Mauricio Pochettino has named 13 uncapped players in a 28-man squad. The average age is under 23, more than four years younger than the World Cup roster.

The headline name: 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan of the Philadelphia Union. If he gets on the field, he could become the youngest US men's player in 20 years.

The headline absence: Christian Pulisic, the team's biggest star, was left out. Pochettino didn't give a reason. He only said the next World Cup is four years away and the team needs a completely different approach.

Why it matters: This is a rebuild, the kind NFL fans know well. There'll be new faces and growing pains, and the fans will need patience. The fall schedule is a good early test: Peru on Saturday, Chile on Tuesday, then Mexico in Glendale, Arizona, on October 3, and finally Canada on October 6.

🍻 HAVE A BEER WITH…

Harry Kane

Club and country: Bayern Munich and England

What to watch for this weekend: Kane captains England against Spain at Wembley on Saturday, in a rematch of the Euro 2024 final they lost. He arrives in the form of his life after becoming the fastest player ever to 100 Bundesliga goals last Friday. He did it in 98 games. The old record was 129.

Fun Fact: Arsenal signed Kane for their youth academy when he was eight, then released him a year later. He went on to become Tottenham's all-time top scorer, which makes him the most expensive mistake in North London history.

Toast: Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier. Oktoberfest is on in Munich right now, and Paulaner is Bayern's official beer partner. It's a golden festival lager, a bit stronger than your everyday pint, and brewed for the Wiesn, which is what Munich locals call Oktoberfest.

Follow him here: @harrykane

🔥 HOUSE SPECIALS

⚽ Goal of the week: Cody Gakpo's 92nd-minute volley to spoil Jürgen Klopp's first game as Germany coach.

🎉 Fanzone: The Viking Row, the Norway fans' chant that took over the World Cup (and a Times Square yoga class), heads home to a sold-out Oslo for Sunday's game against Ronaldo's Portugal.

📅 On this day: September 25, 1963, England legend Tom Finney came out of retirement at 41 for one game with Northern Irish club Distillery. The opponents were Benfica, two-time European champions, and Distillery held them to a 3-3 draw.

👕 Wardrobe watch: Bayern Munich wore their wildest Oktoberfest kit yet for one night only, and the club shop will sell you matching Bayern lederhosen.

🏆 Underdog corner: San Marino, long known as Europe's weakest team, won the first competitive games in their history in the last Nations League, beating Liechtenstein. They've now been promoted to League C and host Finland on Saturday.

📊 Most clicked from Monday: Emi Buendia's stunner for Aston Villa in their 3-2 win at Tottenham. Spurs fans, I'm sorry you had to see it twice.

And as always, thank you for stopping by the Tap-Inn. Sláinte.