"Fraud": Manchester City's former chairman calls for the club to be expelled from the Premier League

David Bernstein, the former chairman of Manchester City, has insisted that any penalties imposed on the club, should its appeal fail, must not be limited to the financial side. The case, he stressed, threatens the credibility of the entire Premier League.

Bernstein told the British Broadcasting Corporation "BBC" on Tuesday: "It is beyond belief in how serious it is. The first thing I think about is: should the board continue? And should the people concerned be suspended from work immediately?".

City's chairman between 1998 and 2003 added: "It is very, very serious. I think it is truly appalling. There is a school of thought among lawyers based on denial, then denial, then denial, but this is a football club that belongs to a competition, and the credibility of the entire league is at stake here".

He went further still: "I would go so far as to say that the matter could represent an ingrained form of fraud. And if that is the case, I am not a lawyer, but from my point of view, this is so serious that it goes beyond the powers of football".

Financial punishment alone will not cut it, Bernstein argued, if the violations are proven: "The penalties cannot be limited to the financial side, they must go much further than that".

His verdict was blunt. "If the appeal fails, Manchester City cannot remain in the Premier League, and it must bear the consequences. And I say that as a supporter and a lover of the club".

The remarks follow the Premier League officially finding Manchester City guilty of serious financial violations.

City hit back in an official statement, insisting they hold evidence of their innocence and will appeal against the decision to convict them.