Manchester City's potential punishment remains unclear after the Premier League champions were charged with allegedly breaching more than 100 financial fair play regulations, but relegation is one of the potential extreme measures.
It is certainly the preference of some others within the English top flight, with calls for the champions from the last two seasons to be kicked out of the league if the charges are upheld by an independent commission. Things could get complicated, though, with no guarantee of a team expelled from the Premier League in these conditions being accepted by the EFL.
If City are found guilty and forced to play in a lower tier, they would not be the first team demoted after being punished for breaking rules. Here, Mirror Football looks at some other examples.
Juventus
Juventus ' relegation for their part in the Calciopoli scandal is notable if only for the profile of the club at the time of their punishment. The Bianconeri had won Serie A in 2005-06, only to be stripped of their title and demoted to the second tier.
Club executives including Luciano Moggi were handed bans for their part in the scandal, while Juve were forced to begin the following season in Serie B with a nine-point deduction. Initial reports suggested some of their players could be impacted, but ultimately a number of them were still able to play their part in Italy's World Cup win that summer.
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Several title-winning players remained with Juve in the second tier, with the likes of Gigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero helping them bounce back at the first time of asking. They didn't immediately return to dominance, though, and didn't win the Scudetto again until 2011-12.
Fiorentina
Juve aren't the only Italian side to have suffered a severe punishment this century. Fiorentina suffered financial issues at the start of the 21st century, leading to a squad including the likes of Nuno Gomes and Enrico Chiesa suffering relegation from Serie A in 2002.
One demotion wasn't enough, though. The club was declared bankrupt and forced to start again in Serie C2 as Fiorentina Viola, with veteran Italy international Angelo Di Livio the only senior star to stick around.
Fortunately, a restructuring of the Italian football pyramid allowed them to climb straight to Serie B after just one season, skipping Serie C1. The club then bought back the rights to its name, shedding the 'Viola' tag to become plain old Fiorentina once more, and were promoted back to Serie A in 2004 after beating Perugia in the play-offs.
Parma
Rounding off a trio of Italian clubs on this list is another turn-of-the-century Serie A stalwart.
Parma had finished sixth in Serie A in the 2013-14 season, but the following campaign saw them docked points following a dispute over players' wages and ended with them declaring bankruptcy.
This meant demotion all the way down to Serie D, with the club re-founded as Parma Calcio 1913. However, they won promotion at the first attempt, going the season unbeaten as Senegalese striker Yves Baraye led the way with 20 goals.
Two more promotions followed, with Parma winning the Lega Pro play-off final in 2017 and pipping Frosinone on head-to-head results to secure automatic promotion from Serie B back to the top tier in 2018. The Gialloblu remained in Serie A for three seasons but were relegated in 2021 after finishing bottom of the table.
Rangers
Another big-hitter to suffer from financial issues, Rangers were demoted in 2012 - just four years after losing in the UEFA Cup final. The Gers had finished second in the Scottish Premier League, but were liquidated and forced to start over in the Third Division.
Rangers had entered administration during the 2011-12 season, bringing a points deduction, and liquidation proceedings began after they failed to reach a CVA agreement with creditors. The business was sold to a new company, who were permitted to play under the Rangers name in the 2012-13 season and beyond.
A number of players, including Scotland internationals Lee McCulloch and Lee Wallace, stuck around to help Ally McCoist's team top the third division at the first attempt. They eventually made it back to the top-flight in 2016 and ended their wait for a league title in 2021.
Steaua Bucharest
This one is a little more complicated.
Steaua Bucharest won multiple Romanian titles, and were also crowned European Cup champions in 1986 after beating Barcelona in the final, but the team currently using that name is now down in the second tier.
The complication stems back to the Romanian ministry of defence suing the club over their name in 2014, more than a decade after the football club is understood to have split from the multi-sports team known by the Steaua name. After a three-year battle, the club previously known as FC Steaua Bucharest changed its name to FC FCSB.
The current Steaua Bucharest club began life in Liga IV in 2017, twice losing in the play-offs before finally winning promotion in the 2019-20 season. A second successive promotion followed, but they fell short of making it three in a row after falling short in last season's Liga II play-offs.
Boavista
Boavista famously won their first and only Portuguese title in 2001, going on to face Liverpool and Manchester United in the following season's Champions League. Less than a decade later, though, they had been demoted.
The club had finished in mid-table in the 2007-08 Primeira Liga season, but were bumped to the second tier following an investigation into a match-fixing scandal relating to the 2003-04 campaign. The following season, they were relegated again, finishing second from bottom in the Liga de Honra amid financial issues off the pitch.
They did not return to the top flight until the 2014-15 season, following a long legal battle, skipping the second tier entirely after the Portuguese league granted them a return. Boavista have remained in the Primeira Liga ever since, though they have not finished higher than eighth in the table.
Marseille
Like other teams on this list Marseille were European champions before their eventual demotion. However, in the case of the French side, the circumstances around their downfall are a little different.
The Ligue 1 giants became the first ever team to win the Champions League, beating AC Milan in the final in Munich. They would not have a chance to defend their title, though, with the club's president and general manager engulfed in a bribery scandal relating to the previous season's league game against Valenciennes.
Marseille were relegated at the end of the 1993-94 season, despite a second-place finish in the league, but were allowed to play in the 1994-95 UEFA Cup. Financial issues prevented them from making an immediate return to the top tier, but they were promoted in 1996 and won the ninth of their nine domestic league titles 14 years later.
Middlesbrough
Upwardly-mobile Premier League side Middlesbrough were looking to kick on in the 1996-97 after finishing 12th the previous year. Italy striker Fabrizio Ravanelli and Brazil midfielder Emerson were among the stars to move to the Riverside Stadium, but a 12-game winless run between September and December left them in a relegation fight.
Bryan Robson's side had impressed in the other competitions, making it all the way to the final in both the FA Cup and League Cup, but remained in trouble in the league. Injuries played a part, prompting Boro to postpone a December game against Blackburn.
They believed they had permission to postpone the fixture but the league disagreed, docking them three points as punishment. The deduction proved critical come May, with Boro finishing two points from safety, and it remained a sore point despite the team earning an immediate promotion the following year.
