Exclusive: How West Brom could play part as Premier League weigh up Manchester City sanction

West Brom and rivals could have a say in how the Premier League punish Manchester City, a legal expert has told West Brom News.

There is set to be a wide range of claims made against the Citizens in the coming months and years.

The Etihad club have been found guilty of breaching financial rules across a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018.

Findings detail that they are deemed to have artificially inflated their revenue by over £900million.

That has opened a can of worms as discussion surrounding the severity of a potential sanction goes on.

It is unclear which avenue the Premier League could go down, but one could see West Brom get their say.

How West Brom can halt Manchester City sanction

At this stage, there is no guessing when a punishment could be handed to the Sky Blues.

There is a clamour throughout English football for them to be treated as harshly as possible for these unprecedented charges.

That has seen many suggest that expulsion from the Premier League is necessary whether that be immediate or via a points deduction.

Although that could work to adequately punish the Citizens, it would likely be the detriment of EFL clubs.

Daniel Baker, Senior Associate at Knights, believes that any City relegation could cause a stir within the Championship, League One and League Two.

The legal expert has represented elite-level coaches, athletes, clubs and organisations within football, including cases within the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Speaking exclusively to West Brom News, Baker said: "They could go down and have better players than other teams and that would distort the league. That is why the EFL could take a view that they don't want to have anything to do with it.

"The EFL will need to accept Manchester City as a member because if you play in it, you have to be. The Premier League can't make the EFL and its clubs accept them.

"You could argue that having them in the EFL is a draw for their clubs and want them turning up to their ground and the payday that comes with that, might be quite attractive.

"There could also be a few clubs who feel strongly opposed to having Man City in there after what they've done."

How could West Brom react to Manchester City's potential EFL case?

It has to be said that the Baggies have been impacted financially by the actions of Man City.

They would have finished one place higher in seven of the nine seasons involved in these charges.

That would have resulted in seven years of additional prize money that they ultimately missed out on.

That is a separate matter, but in this case, would they want Manchester City in the EFL? Probably not.

Given that the aim of The Hawthorns on a yearly basis is to earn promotion, why would they lower their chances by welcoming the eight-time Premier League champions to the division?

That will likely be the stance of several clubs in every tier of the EFL and may ultimately cause problems for both the Premier League and the Citizens moving forward.