May 24 – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said that he wants the 115 Premier League financial charges against the club to be dealt with “as soon as possible”.
At the weekend, his club claimed a third consecutive English league crown, but the allegations of breaching the financial rules from 2009 to 2018 have cast a shadow over City’s recent triumph.
At a news conference, City coach Guardiola said: “What I would like is if the Premier League and judges could make something as soon as possible. Then, if we have done something wrong everybody will know it and, if we are like we believe as a club for many years, [done things] in the right way, then the people will stop talking about it.”
“We would love it tomorrow. This afternoon better than tomorrow.”
City have always denied any wrongdoing and claim their innocence is supported by a “body of irrefutable evidence”. The club have also said they “look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all”.
In 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) overturned A two-year ban from European competitions for breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. City still received a €10 million fine for obstructing the investigation.
“Hopefully they are not so busy and the judges can see both sides and decide what is the best, because in the end I know fairly what we won we won on the pitch and we don’t have any doubts,” said Guardiola.
“Let’s go. Don’t wait two years. Why don’t we do it quicker? In 24 hours, sit down with lawyers present. Let’s have it as soon as possible for the benefit of everyone.”
Manchester City have been accused of falsifying their accounts and artificially inflating sponsorship and commercial deals over a number of years. They have been referred to an independent commission which can impose sanctions.
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