Man City face humiliating climb through pyramid if expelled from Premier League

If the alleged breaches of financial rules are proven and the Premier League commission advises the strongest possible punishment, current rules would not allow for immediate entry into the Championship

Manchester City could face a humiliating climb through the English football pyramid if the alleged breaches the Premier League has charged them with are proven and result in expulsion from the top flight.

While there has been an expectation that such an extreme outcome would see the Abu Dhabi project go into the Championship, that would only be the case if it a points deduction led to relegation.

If the alleged breaches are proven, and the Premier League commission advises the strongest possible punishment of expulsion, the current English Football League rules would not allow for immediate entry into the Championship.

The EFL would in fact have to agree to accept City in the first place and, even in that scenario, it would be to enter League Two. The EFL would have to change their existing regulations to allow any club to go straight into the second tier, or else City would need to rise from the bottom of the Football League.