Soccer 2022–2023 (EPL, La Liga, etc)
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faille
Trakanon Raider
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Falstaff
Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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Springbok
Karen
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Think the prem has a real problem on their hands and how they navigate City and their punishments will determine the fate of the league to some extent. Why would your powerhouse teams, with actual fans (who generate 80+% of the media revenues by themselves - LFC/MUFC/AFC) sit back and allow the league let City off the hook with minimal punishment. It would be a death knell to the EPL to piss of their big clubs to continue to allow a nation state to run riot over the rules. Somehow in a very short 10 year window, we were all told to "look away, nothing to see here of COURSE City have commercial revenues far exceeding all teams in Europe including Madrid." It's insane, and I think it's the biggest sports scandal ever. The PM publicly stating he hoped the punishment isn't too severe, whilst also working closely with City ownership to expand and invest in greater Manchester at the same time is insane. The minimum should be points deduction for years (30-50 points a season), ownership group liquidated/forced to sell up, and a massive fine paid directly to aggrieved parties (clubs who financially lost hundreds of millions in revenue).
Watching them yesterday at Anfield was sickening honestly - winning, smug smiling into the crowd, making a mockery of the entire thing. Pep's been a cheat at every step of his career from player to manager every step of the way. Take nothing away from De Bruyne, Silva, Kompany, Haaland etc. Brilliant players. Some of the best ever EPL players in fact. But the truth is, those players don't sniff City without rampant, purposeful cheating. If Arsenal/United/Pool had balls they would refuse to play the City matches. Make a mockery of a league who would die on the vine without the red cartel.
Arsenal winning the league last season, sending Pep packing on the way out with his tail between his legs is the single greatest sporting moment of my life. Klopp winning one league, in spite of all LFC's brilliance is a disgrace. Clubs missing out on CL, cups, league titles is a disgrace. Get it right, or die. Personally, I'm hoping they let them off easy and this whole corrupt thing dies a miserable, quick death. Take your bent officials with you.
Watching them yesterday at Anfield was sickening honestly - winning, smug smiling into the crowd, making a mockery of the entire thing. Pep's been a cheat at every step of his career from player to manager every step of the way. Take nothing away from De Bruyne, Silva, Kompany, Haaland etc. Brilliant players. Some of the best ever EPL players in fact. But the truth is, those players don't sniff City without rampant, purposeful cheating. If Arsenal/United/Pool had balls they would refuse to play the City matches. Make a mockery of a league who would die on the vine without the red cartel.
Arsenal winning the league last season, sending Pep packing on the way out with his tail between his legs is the single greatest sporting moment of my life. Klopp winning one league, in spite of all LFC's brilliance is a disgrace. Clubs missing out on CL, cups, league titles is a disgrace. Get it right, or die. Personally, I'm hoping they let them off easy and this whole corrupt thing dies a miserable, quick death. Take your bent officials with you.
Kirun
Buzzfeed Editor
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If the Premier League had any nuts, they'd kick Man City out of the league entirely. At an absolute minimum, impose a 5-10 year ban.
Of course, we all know that's unlikely to happen. City's ownership group operates on a level where the Premier League is practically playing in a different weight class. They're effectively "too big to fail", or at least too expensive to punish properly. So we'll probably get the kid-gloves treatment, where they get a weak-ass points deduction and perhaps a forced sale of the club, allowing everyone to pretend justice has been served while City carry on.
As you said, this is arguably the biggest cheating scandal in professional sports history. The Black Sox scandal, Pete Rose, Tim Donaghy, the steroids era in baseball - it's bigger than all of it. We're talking about allegations of systemic financial misconduct spanning years, potentially undermining the competitive integrity of an entire league. This isn't a player betting on games or a team bending the rules around the edges. It's a club allegedly operating outside the financial framework governing its competitors while building a dynasty.
If the Premier League can't enforce its own rules against one of its most powerful clubs, what the fuck are those rules even worth? If the consequences amount to little more than a points deduction and a financial slap on the wrist, the message to every other club is to just cheat your way to success, win enough trophies, make enough money, and you might eventually become too big to punish.
The league needs to make an example of City. Not because rival fans are sick of seeing them win, but because the integrity of the competition has to matter more than protecting its commercial interests. If it doesn't, anyone who continues to insist the Premier League is a fair and credible competition after a toothless verdict is either willfully ignoring reality or has decided that the results matter more than the legitimacy of the competition itself.
At that point, we're not watching a serious sporting competition, you're basically watching a glorified entertainment product where the rules are negotiable for the right people. It's WWE, essentially.
Of course, we all know that's unlikely to happen. City's ownership group operates on a level where the Premier League is practically playing in a different weight class. They're effectively "too big to fail", or at least too expensive to punish properly. So we'll probably get the kid-gloves treatment, where they get a weak-ass points deduction and perhaps a forced sale of the club, allowing everyone to pretend justice has been served while City carry on.
As you said, this is arguably the biggest cheating scandal in professional sports history. The Black Sox scandal, Pete Rose, Tim Donaghy, the steroids era in baseball - it's bigger than all of it. We're talking about allegations of systemic financial misconduct spanning years, potentially undermining the competitive integrity of an entire league. This isn't a player betting on games or a team bending the rules around the edges. It's a club allegedly operating outside the financial framework governing its competitors while building a dynasty.
If the Premier League can't enforce its own rules against one of its most powerful clubs, what the fuck are those rules even worth? If the consequences amount to little more than a points deduction and a financial slap on the wrist, the message to every other club is to just cheat your way to success, win enough trophies, make enough money, and you might eventually become too big to punish.
The league needs to make an example of City. Not because rival fans are sick of seeing them win, but because the integrity of the competition has to matter more than protecting its commercial interests. If it doesn't, anyone who continues to insist the Premier League is a fair and credible competition after a toothless verdict is either willfully ignoring reality or has decided that the results matter more than the legitimacy of the competition itself.
At that point, we're not watching a serious sporting competition, you're basically watching a glorified entertainment product where the rules are negotiable for the right people. It's WWE, essentially.
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