Pep Guardiola believes that the panel investigating alleged FFP charges against Man City has already found them guilty. The Citizens are under scrutiny by the English FA over alleged financial irregularities since 2009.
Manchester City are on the chopping block but resisting the butcher’s blade. The massively successful club since the takeover of the club by Sheikh Mansour. Mansour is one of football’s wealthiest owners, with an estimated individual net worth of at least £17 billion and a family fortune of at least $1 trillion.
There have been allegations against the Citizens of alleged financial irregularities in their business model. The Qatar-owned club is under the spotlight over accusations of circumventing the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rule. The club is set for a lengthy battle to clear their name and avoid tight penalties if the FA proves infractions against them.
Pep Guardiola is no stranger to accusations of different sorts. Thirteen years ago, following a 5-0 defeat to Lazio, the 30-year-old had tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone. He received a ban from football for four months, but on appeal in 2005, Guardiola was handed a seven-month suspended jail sentence by a court in Brescia. In the case against Man City, Guardiola declared the Citizens innocent but adjudged guilty by the panel.
Guardiola sticks with Man City
Pep Guardiola is in a fighting mood over Man City’s financial charges. The Spaniard claims City is innocent but has already been adjudged guilty in a previous Uefa investigation. After a four-year investigation, the Premier League charged City with more than 100 violations of FFP regulations on Monday.
City are under scrutiny for failing to provide accurate financial information about club and sponsorship revenue, plus operating costs, for nine seasons between 2009/10 and 2017/18. If City are found guilty, they face expulsion from the Premier League and may lose their six league titles.
However, City manager Pep Guardiola believes the club was punished during their first meeting with Uefa for alleged financial wrongdoings. The Court of Arbitration eventually overturned the penalties.
In defending Man City, Guardiola told BBC that the allegations stem from what happened with UEFA. He said the club proved they were innocent (from Uefa charges), but they are still hounded over their success in that case.
Guardiola claims Man City innocence
Pep cited the case in which City won an appeal against their Court of Arbitration for a Sports ban, which initially barred them from competing in the Champions League for two years in 2020. They were reinstated to the competition after a subsequent appeal cleared them of ‘disguising equity funds’.
With the assistance of Lord Pannick KC of Blackstone Chambers, City overcame the charges. Pep is confident that the legal wizard can help them swat away the Premier League’s latest allegations against the club.
“The former Bayern Munich manager said they were fortunate to live in a beautiful country where everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
He added they didn’t get this chance because, this time, they were already assumed guilty.
Guardiola also wondered what would happen if the same thing happened with Uefa and the club was found innocent, and what would happen to restore or compensate for the damage.
Pep Guardiola’s fighting spirit has given City a massive boost in these trying times, with reports claiming that the former Barcelona manager is considering leaving the club amid the economic turmoil engulfing the Etihad.
