Rio Ferdinand demands ex-Man City star hand over Premier League medal as brutal punishment proposed

Former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand has demanded that Manchester City’s 2011/12 Premier League winners hand over their Premier League medals after the 115-charge verdict was dropped on Friday (September 25).

It was widely reported that City had been found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League, with a points deduction, Premier League expulsion, a large fine and the stripping of trophies all possible punishments.

Ferdinand, who was part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s United side that finished second to City in the 2011/12 campaign, believes City’s players should be forced to hand over their medals from that particular triumph.

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Rio Ferdinand wants Man City’s Premier League medals handed over

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, the former England centre-back joked that ex-City defender Joleon Lescott should be made to hand over his medal, claiming: “When I see Joleon, I'm actually going to go to his house and just say, ‘Listen, hand it over. Hand it over’. You can't really sit there and say that you were champions, can you? Or you won that or you won that.

“Well, they're not going to have to pay any fines. They're not going to get relegated. Just hand over the trophy. Hand over the medals, hand over the trophy. Simple as.”

This comes after he wasted no time in taking to X when the verdict dropped, quipping: “Another Premier League medal to be added to the cabinet.”

Ferdinand already has six Premier League titles to his name, all from his time at Manchester United, which ended in 2014 when he moved to Queens Park Rangers.

“They've been the best team in the country by a country mile, right?” he added when speaking on his YouTube channel.

“And they've had the best manager here. But again, if found guilty, there need to be relevant punishments and that's what has to be put in place

“So, we have to just sit and wait. Again, the killer for this is that it's took this long. That's that. But back to your point about can we still admire some of the football and and some of the moments that they had? Of course you can. You can still admire. And again, I'll reiterate the players aren't to blame in this.

“There's people that are in much more powerful positions and authority positions within the football clubs that make all these decisions. So, I wouldn't place any of the blame on any of the players shoulders, but they're going to be looked at differently and it's inevitable because that's just the way it is.”

City also won the league in 2013/14, while United were seventh and Liverpool finished as runners-up.

All 115 charges relate to a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018. City won three Premier League titles during this period.

An independent commission reviewed the case between September 2024 and December 2024.

Despite the verdict sending shockwaves through global football, both City’s CEO, Ferran Soriano, and chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, have pledged to prove the club’s innocence.

City say they have “a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position”.

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Man City’s 115 charges in full

Here is a full breakdown of the charges brought against City by the Premier League:

• Failure to provide accurate financial information giving a true and fair view of the club’s financial position from 2009/10 to and including 2017/18 – 54 alleged breaches
• Failure to co-operate with and assist the Premier League’s investigation from December 2018 to February 2023 – 35 alleged breaches
• Failure to provide full details of manager remuneration from 2009/10 to 2012/13 and player remuneration from 2010/11 to 2015/16 – 14 alleged breaches
• Breaches of Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules from 2015/16 to and including 2017/18 – seven alleged breaches
• Failure to comply with UEFA regulations, including its Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations, from 2013/14 to and including 2017/18 – five alleged breaches

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