Man City can force Premier League to answer question nobody is asking over 115 charges

Manchester City are one week into the arbitration hearing into their Premier League charges and every time someone sneezes a new potential punishment is mooted.

They could be fined, or docked points, or relegated, or expelled, or made to play with their legs taped together, or forced to play their home games at Maine Road despite the fact it is now a housing estate. If you've ever thought about it, it could well be happening to City before the end of the season.

In all of this breathless and serious reporting, we haven't heard much about what could happen to the Premier League. Which feels odd given City have insisted upon their innocence, have been cleared of a similar investigation by an actual sporting court before, and have employed a team of top lawyers to defend themselves against allegations that could hardly be more serious.

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Because if the independent panel is not convinced that the Premier League have the evidence for the most serious charges against City - and it is only the most serious charges that really matter here, victory cannot be claimed on non-cooperation alone - it cannot be business as usual for the world's most competitive league. Too many reputations have already suffered and too many clubs, or members to give them their official titles, are too actively involved for this to all go away quietly if City are vindicated.

Would heads need to roll at the Premier League to sate those who would be unhappy with any verdict? Would punishment for City be demanded regardless?

This is all speculative of course, but not only has there been