City\u2019s trophies \u2018littered with asterisks\u2019<\/a><\/b><\/p>\nGuardiola, who was a vocal supporter of the club over the issue before leaving the Etihad in May, broke his silence in a post on X. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want every single @ManCity fan to know I am here, more than ever,\u201d said the Spaniard, who won six Premier League titles and the Champions League in a golden decade at the helm. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am, always have been, always will be, behind my club, my owner, my chairman, (CEO) Ferran (Soriano), the players, staff, (manager) Enzo (Maresca) and you, our unique supporters. <\/p>\n
\u201cLet me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guardiola\u2019s statement was met with some fierce criticism in the UK.<\/p>\n
The Guardian\u2019s Barney Ronay penned a column that took at aim at Guardiola for his combativeness during the investigation into City. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Pep know?\u201d he wrote. \u201cIs believing the assurances of others any kind of defence, given Guardiola was in the perfect position to ask questions of his own? Is any kind of deniability plausible here?<\/p>\n
\u201cTo this day Guardiola\u2019s stance remains slavish adherence to the promises of his paymasters, as evidenced by his first statement on the matter <\/p>\n
\u201cGuardiola says he will be getting through the current unpleasantness with the club and its fans, sticking together as always. But were you together, really? Because City\u2019s fans have some urgent questions of their own now.\u201d <\/p>\n
Legend Alan Shearer also questioned Guardiola\u2019s position in the scandal, pondering what he knew of the club\u2019s cheating.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Ex-Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. (Photo by Carl Recine\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cYou have to think about when other people knew. Pep [Guardiola] leaving when he did, them stockpiling signings in the summer… there are so many questions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a terrible look for football, for the Premier League.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were people at the club who are now at other clubs as well, which I guess will have questions to answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
– \u2018Significant breach\u2019 –<\/b><\/p>\n
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he did not want to see the club\u2019s Emirati owners walk away as a result of the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would be really concerned to lose them,\u201d he told the BBC, highlighting the investment the Abu Dhabi United Group had made in Manchester, where Burnham was mayor until June. <\/p>\n
But English football\u2019s independent regulator, David Kogan, said that his body has the power to assess the suitability of club owners and executives \u201cwhere appropriate\u201d, when there is \u201cclear evidence of wrongdoing by individuals\u201d. <\/p>\n
The Premier League, which first charged City in 2023, announced the findings of the commission on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The commission found City arranged \u201csham\u201d deals to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than \u00a3900 million ($1.2 billion) between 2009 and 2018, a period in which they won three Premier League titles and other silverware. <\/p>\n
In doing so, they concealed the true state of their finances but the commission said that the club were \u201csignificantly in breach of both the Premier League\u2019s and UEFA\u2019s spending limits\u201d. <\/p>\n
The commission found the club guilty on all charges related to breaches of financial rules over the nine-year period.<\/p>\n
They have also been found guilty of most of the charges they faced in relation to a failure to co-operate with a Premier League investigation. <\/p>\n
Sky Sports reported that City\u2019s stadium and shirt sponsor Etihad has categorically denied any implication the Emirati airline has been involved in improper commercial arrangements and threatened to take legal action against the Premier League. <\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Micah Richards, who was part of the side that won the club\u2019s first top-flight league title for 44 years in 2012, said the uncertainty was \u201cheartbreaking\u201d.<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n– Punishment –<\/b><\/p>\n
Everton and Nottingham Forest were given points deductions in the 2023\/24 season for single breaches of financial sustainability rules. <\/p>\n
On that basis, City could face relegation given the sheer weight of the case against them.<\/p>\n
There is speculation they could even be stripped of their titles. \u201cIf the appeal fails, Manchester City cannot stay in the league, they have to suffer. And I say that as a supporter and a fan,\u201d said the club\u2019s former chairman, David Bernstein. <\/p>\n
Former City defender Micah Richards, who was part of the side that won the club\u2019s first top-flight league title for 44 years in 2012, said the uncertainty was \u201cheartbreaking\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI achieved my dream at Manchester City, but then to hear these reports, and not only me as an ex-player, but the fans, what they have to go through, absolutely devastating,\u201d Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast. <\/p>\n
City have become the Premier League\u2019s dominant force since the 2008 takeover by Sheikh Mansour, the vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. <\/p>\n
The team are next in action against Liverpool at Anfield on October 11, where they will take on the club who have been their closest challengers over the past decade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has broken his silence to throw his weight behind the club after a bombshell verdict on Premier League financial rule breaches plunged their future into serious doubt. The former boss spoke on Wednesday, 24 hours after it was announced that the Abu Dhabi-backed club had been found guilty of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":265266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-265265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}