Canada coach Jesse Marsch has called for Manchester City to be punished severely, including relegation, over breaches of Premier League financial rules. He made the demand in an interview with The Guardian published on October 4.

City were found guilty of serious breaches of financial rules covering nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18. The league alleged the club used “sham” commercial contracts to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than 900 million pounds. The club denies wrongdoing and filed an appeal on Thursday.

Marsch, who managed Leeds United in 2022-23, said the disparity between the clubs was obvious to him then. “I think Man City should be punished severely. I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it,” he said.

He pointed to the summer of 2022, when City signed Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for a reported 52 million pounds. “When they said they got Erling Haaland for 52 million, it’s like: ‘Yeah, OK, sure!'” Marsch said. If the appeal fails, City could face points deductions or relegation.