But it’s about so much more than City and their punishment by now. This is a powder keg situation that can really scandalise the product if they have the punishment meted out that they would be due in a fair/just world. There’s got to be vested interest in not having the upcoming shitstorm of all affected parties being up in arms demanding recompense for their own loss of earnings etc because of the illegal alien who saw them relegated or nudged out of European competition or even not promoted.
I said in the City thread that it doesn’t take much for this to go away despite the subsequent uproar from fans. City can be given unprecedented fines and points penalties and still remain in the PL with the matter addressed as far as punishment goes. Even a 60pt deduction would see them stay up, despite it being seen as an extraordinary point penalty.
There’s so much wrong with this case, I really don’t get how people think normal metrics can or will be applied. Ignore all white noise and outcry and take a look at all the factors; there’s so much more riding on this than the fan perception of what justice is; it’s a cataclysmic event if taken to a natural conclusion, one which neither the league nor government will want any part of.
From a watch the world burn pov, it’d be quite something to see what the landscape would look like with the proverbial nuke detonated, but nobody in power actively works against their own interests and slapping away golden handshakes and also feather and tarring your own brand (that you permitted these cheats to run wild for so long they have become bedrock in the product you sell) is just not going to happen. All in my opinion, of course.