Manchester City have been found guilty of the majority of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League — and now the question of whether the club should be stripped of trophies won between 2009 and 2018 has moved to the centre of the debate.

BBC Sport has learned that neither the Premier League organisation nor its member clubs have shown much appetite for retrospective title stripping. Yet the matter is far from settled. An independent panel still has to conduct a formal sanction hearing, and under Premier League rules, the panel may impose any penalty it considers appropriate — including, in theory, retrospectively voiding titles.

What punishments are most likely?

The Premier League's rulebook specifically lists fines, points deductions, and expulsion as potential sanctions. Title stripping is not explicitly named, but the broad discretionary powers afforded to the panel mean it cannot be entirely excluded. Legal and sporting observers suggest a substantial points deduction, a record-breaking fine, or expulsion are the more probable outcomes.

City were accused of inflating sponsorship revenue from connected companies and making payments that circumvented football's financial regulations across nearly a decade. The period in which they have been found guilty — 2009 to 2018 — coincides with the club winning three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two EFL Cups, and a Community Shield.

Who would inherit the trophies?

If those titles were reallocated rather than left blank, the clubs that finished as runners-up to City during the relevant seasons would be in line to receive them. Those clubs are Manchester United (Premier League 2011–12 and 2017–18), Liverpool (Premier League 2013–14 and EFL Cup 2015–16), Stoke City (FA Cup 2010–11), Sunderland (EFL Cup 2013–14), Arsenal (EFL Cup 2017–18), and Chelsea (Community Shield 2012–13).

Almost two years ago, Jose Mourinho — who managed City's rivals Manchester United to a second-place finish 19 points behind City in 2018 — mischievously suggested that United could yet be handed that title and that City would owe him a bonus and a medal.

A complicated question with no clean answer

Stripping titles raises far-reaching complications. Chelsea themselves were found to have made a catalogue of secret agent payments between 2011 and 2018, prompting questions about whether similar retrospective action could apply to their trophy cabinet as well. And the charges against City also cover a later period — December 2018 to February 2023 — during which Pep Guardiola's side are accused of failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations. Liverpool, who finished runners-up to City twice during that window under Jurgen Klopp, would be among the clubs with a potential claim.

Precedent does exist elsewhere in sport. Juventus were stripped of their Serie A titles from 2005 and 2006 following the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal — with the first left blank and the second awarded to Inter Milan. Lance Armstrong lost all seven of his Tour de France titles to the UCI in 2012 for doping. Elgin City were stripped of the 1992–93 Highland League title for fielding ineligible players.