Mauricio Pochettino has weighed in on the impact of Manchester City’s financial breaches in the Premier League. The Argentine coach believes no matter what the punishment is, irreversible damage has already been done to many clubs.
The Athletic reported on Friday that an independent panel has found Manchester City guilty of breaching a wide range of financial rules. As per the report, 114 out of the 115 charges levied against the club have been upheld.
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The charges relate to a period between 2009 to 2018, with Manchester City also accused of not cooperating with investigations between December 2018 and February 2023. The sanctions have not been decided, but City are expected to appeal against the decision.
Pochettino, who has coached three teams in the Premier League, has described the whole fiasco as a ‘period of deception’. The former Tottenham and Chelsea manager called it a moment of huge sadness since everybody celebrated achievements that should not have counted.
He also pointed to how Manchester City went against sporting fairness and suggested that economic punishment or docking of points will do no good to what the other clubs in the league missed out on during the time.
Pochettino was quoted as saying by the BBC:
“Whatever punishment [they choose], it’s impossible to turn back time. It’s done a lot of damage. Many clubs followed the rules and some didn’t.
“Maybe they thought that the punishment [wouldn’t come for a lot of years] – what are they going to do? An economic punishment? Docking points? It’s really hard.
“It is a huge sadness. We get into a situation where what got celebrated wasn’t that real, what seemed good maybe wasn’t so good, what didn’t look good maybe was good but couldn’t be good because of what happened.
“We went through something where sporting fairness didn’t exist. So, how do you repair everything that was damaged because of that, if it’s true all of the 114 rules that were broken, we’ve lived through a period of deception.”
Pochettino’s former club Tottenham are among the teams that are eligible for compensation, if Manchester City fail to prove they are not guilty in this matter.
What did Manchester City chairman say about the financial breaches?
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak issued a statement after the Cityzens were found guilty of breaching financial rules. He promised the fans that the club did nothing wrong and insisted they will fight to prove their innocence.
Part of the statement read:
“Following Friday’s media reporting, many of you will have spent your evening answering questions and responding to messages from friends, family and colleagues. So have I. Here’s what I said to my family: The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent to prove the club’s innocence are just as strong as when this began.”
Al Mubarak also stated that Manchester City will not give critics who want to undermine the club an opportunity to do the same. He suggested the fans and the club must stand together and overcome this challenge.
“While some people have been quick to reach their own conclusions, and there is so much noise swirling around us, nothing has changed. We have faced challenges together before and have prevailed. There remain many who want to undermine the momentum of our club. We will not give them that opportunity.”
Manchester City return to action in the Premier League on October 11, when they take the trip to face Liverpool at Anfield. The Kop will not shy away from reminding its opponents about the breaches.
Edited by Nived Zenith
