The Premier League charged Manchester City with numerous alleged breaches of financial rules on Monday February 6. It further referred the findings to an independent commission.
Pep Guardiola is confident that Manchester City is innocent, but believes the club has “already been sentenced” after being charged by the Premier League for allegedly breaching financial rules.
Manchester City’s alleged breaches span a period from the 2009-10 season to the 2017-18 campaign but the club say they are “surprised” and “welcome a review of this matter”.
Speaking to the media for the first time since the charges were announced, Guardiola said: “We are lucky we live in a country where everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
“It seems like we have already been sentenced.
“What is going to happen, I don’t know. We think we have good lawyers and we are going to defend our position.
Possible Punishments
“Time will depend what happens. We will see what a judge, the Premier League decides”.
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If Manchester City is found guilty, possible punishments include a points deduction or even the threat of expulsion from the Premier League altogether.
Speaking in May 2022, Guardiola explained why he had backed the club after they were charged by UEFA with breaching financial fair play regulations and referenced those charges again on Friday.
The Premier League – which opened its investigation in March 2019 – has referred the alleged offences to an independent commission.
In a statement, the Premier League said: “In accordance with Premier League rule W.82.1, the Premier League confirms that it has [February 6 2023] referred a number of alleged breaches of the Premier League rules by Manchester City.
“However, it is understood the announcement of the charges was unrelated to the white paper and that no briefings were made before the statement was published on the Premier League website”.
