As Manchester City has been found guilty of 114 of the 115 breaches it was charged with as part of the Premier League proceedings, the question of potential sanctions is now at the center of attention. The English club, which is expected to appeal, has not yet received any definitive punishment. Among the possibilities being discussed is the removal of titles won during the period in question. Such a measure would be exceptional, but there are precedents in European soccer history. In France and Italy, Olympique de Marseille in 1993 and Juventus in 2006 have already had league titles stripped following scandals that profoundly marked their respective domestic soccer landscapes.
Marseille 1993 : the domestic title sacrified
In May 1993, Olympique de Marseille dominated French soccer. Bernard Tapie’s club had just won its fifth consecutive French championship and was preparing to face AC Milan in the European Cup final. But just days before that match, a scandal would transform the history of the club and French soccer.
On May 20, Marseille defeated Valenciennes 1-0. Two days later, Valenciennes player Jacques Glassmann revealed the existence of an attempted bribery scheme. Jean-Jacques Eydelie and Jean-Pierre Bernès, respectively an OM player and general manager, were accused of offering money to several Valenciennes players so that they would take it easy during the match and, above all, avoid getting injured before the European final. An envelope containing 250,000 French francs was later found at the home of Christophe Robert’s parents.
The case quickly took on national significance. The French Football Federation stripped OM of its 1992-93 French championship title on September 22, 1993. Initially, the decision was presented as provisional, pending the outcome of the judicial proceedings. The championship nevertheless remained without an officially designated winner: Paris Saint-Germain, who had finished second, refused to take the title.
The consequences then went far beyond the championship itself. UEFA excluded Marseille from European competitions and, in 1994, OM was ultimately relegated to the second division despite finishing second on the field. The 1995 trial resulted, among other things, in Bernard Tapie’s conviction for corruption and witness tampering.
The Marseille case therefore has an important particularity: the title was not transferred to another club. It simply disappeared from the official record for the 1992-93 season, leaving the championship without a champion.
Juventus and the Calciopoli earthquake
Thirteen years later, Italian soccer experienced one of its biggest scandals. In 2006, the Calciopoli scandal erupted after the revelation of telephone wiretaps implicating, among others, Luciano Moggi, then Juventus general manager, in his dealings with Italian refereeing officials. The investigation revealed a system of contacts and influence surrounding the appointment of referees and the management of Italian soccer.
Juventus was punished particularly heavily. The club was stripped of its two most recent Italian championship titles, from the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, and relegated to Serie B. The initial ruling also imposed a 30-point penalty for the 2006-07 season. Following an appeal, the sanctions were reduced, but Juventus remained the only club ultimately relegated to the second division.
The treatment of the two titles was also different. The 2004-05 title remained vacant, while the 2005-06 Scudetto was eventually awarded to Inter Milan, who had finished third in the championship. Fiorentina, Lazio and AC Milan were also sanctioned as part of the case, with different sporting penalties.
Juventus was therefore stripped of two titles that had previously appeared in its trophy record. The club was also forced to restart in Serie B, while part of its squad left Turin during the summer of 2006. The punishment subsequently became one of the most striking examples of sporting authorities intervening in a trophy record established on the field.
Manchester City facing a historic precedent
The cases of Marseille and Juventus help explain why the question of potentially stripping Manchester City of titles is so sensitive. In both previous cases, the sanctions followed distinct scandals, with different mechanisms and responsibilities: corruption surrounding a match in Marseille’s case, and an affair involving influence over the refereeing system in Juventus’ case.
Manchester City finds itself in a different situation once again. The club has been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges examined by the Premier League, concerning, among other things, financial information, certain payments and compliance with financial rules over several seasons. The disciplinary process is not yet over, however: Manchester City still has to learn what its punishment will be and has the possibility of appealing.
Among the potential sanctions being considered is the removal of certain titles won during the period in question. The 2011-12, 2013-14, 2017-18 and 2018-19 English championships are among those covered by the period under investigation, although no definitive decision to strip those titles has been announced at this stage.
Marseille in 1993 and Juventus in 2006 therefore show that stripping a championship title from a club is not without precedent. But these two cases also demonstrate that stripping a title does not automatically mean awarding the championship to another club. In France, the 1993 title remained vacant. In Italy, one of the two titles stripped from Juventus remained without a winner, while the other was awarded to Inter. Manchester City’s case will therefore depend entirely on the decisions of the relevant authorities and any appeals that follow.
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