4 min readOct 1, 2026 04:00 PM IST First published on: Oct 1, 2026 at 03:55 PM ISTNo Liverpool fan, whether watching from the stands at Anfield or in a bedroom in New Delhi, will ever forget the harrowing image of Steven Gerrard slipping and allowing Demba Ba to run away and score. That Chelsea win in April 2014 set off a cascade of events that eventually sent the Premier League (PL) trophy back to Manchester. The anguish of that slip — and the sight of a visibly shaken Gerrard, captain and talisman — has stayed because that is the cruelty of football. Years of hope and hard work can turn on the weight of a single moment.The title that year was lifted by Manchester City, found guilty this week of violating PL financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. To put it simply, City overstated its income and understated costs to get around financial fair play rules. The sham involved £830.69 million in funding from the club’s Abu Dhabi owner, disguised as sponsorship revenue.AdvertisementAlso Read | Iran’s World Cup exit is no ordinary football heartbreakIt is difficult to draw a straight line between the club’s violations and its extraordinary success. But some inferences can be drawn with reasonable confidence. Carlos Tevez, Sergio Agüero, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne were among the heavyweights signed by City during this period — part of a pattern of spending that frequently set records and attracted criticism. Had City operated within the constraints that applied to other clubs, would they have been able to assemble the same squad?We can never know the counterfactual. But that is what makes the rules important. They are an attempt to create something closer to a level playing field in a sport where all clubs will never be financially equal. Aston Villa, for example, despite being the 2025-26 UEFA Europa League champions and finishing fourth in the PL last season, have had to sell many of their players just to comply with the laws.The consequences for City could range from expulsion and a points deduction to enormous financial penalties. But even if they are stripped of the trophies won during that period (three PL titles and others), their legacy will forever be tainted. And what of the glory that came afterwards, including the UEFA Champions League? It is impossible to prove that the advantage carried forward into every subsequent season, but it is equally impossible to pretend that what happened between 2009 and 2018 had no bearing on the football juggernaut that City became.AdvertisementAll my sympathies to the players, support staff and fans. They should not have to confront a moral crisis because of the greed and hubris of their club’s owners. And while they did not choose the decisions that are now casting a shadow over their memories, this will never leave them.you may likeWhich is what makes it all so sad. Because City have given football some of its most iconic moments. Agüeroooooooo against QPR. The 6-1 demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford, with Mario Balotelli’s Why Always Me? T-shirt. And that insane final day in 2021-22, when City came from 2-0 down against Aston Villa to score three times in five minutes, beating Liverpool to the title by the thinnest of margins, with Villa, at the time, managed by guess who? Steven Gerrard.Also Read | Even Donald Trump cannot bend football to his willGareth Southgate once said about football, “It’s a sport I love in an industry that I don’t like.” This £830.69 million episode makes that distinction feel prescient. When the machinery behind the game is found to have been rigged, what happens to everything it produced? The trophies, the records, the unforgettable goals, what, really, are they worth now?The writer is deputy copy editor, The Indian Express. saptarishi.basak@expressindia.com