Wright, Keane demand ‘severe punishment’ against Man City for ‘cheating’
English Premier League legends Ian Wright (Arsenal) and Roy Keane (Manchester United) have both demanded that Manchester City be punished severely for cheating after the club was found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations.
Manchester City has been accused by the Premier League of failing to provide accurate financial information on the details of payments to players and coaches, in addition to breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules.
However, former Manchester City player, Rodri seems not perturbed by the ruling against his former club saying he believes decisions were made in good faith and he trusts the club’s innocence
He also noted that while he was still under their employ, the club always communicated confidence regarding their innocence and instructed the squad to remain calm. Rodri added, “Until the moment they are proved wrong, we will believe the club.”
Reports say possible sanctions could include expulsion from the Premier League, stripping of titles, relegation, and monetary fines, but the club’s punishment is not yet defined due to the expected appeal from the club and the extension of the case.
In the light of the above development, Keane who was speaking during ITV’s coverage of the Nations League clash between England and Spain at Wembley alongside Mark Pougatch and Juan Mata, said: “Well it’s about time [the decision was made]. It’s obviously been going on a long time now and I certainly would disagree with Rodri’s messages there.
“It was the choice of the club, they chose to cheat, and whatever they have won over the last few years, they deserve to be punished. Where we start and finish with that, obviously it’s difficult.
“But they were cheating. Been found guilty of it, they have to take their medicine now. And it was kind of a shock really to be found guilty of…114 of the charges they were found guilty of? Big news it was.”
Read Also: Reactions as Man City found guilty of 114 financial rule breaches
While reacting to the 114 guilty charges against Manchester City, Wright said that the outcome is not very good for the club.
He said; “Not very good, not very good. I’m going to be totally honest.
“Going back to Rodri, he’s talking about what he’s done. He went shoulder to shoulder with the guys, and, of course, you can’t take that away from them, they experienced that.
“But they should take that away from them, they should be punished for it. They may have been able to experience those memories and all of those great times together, but then, when you look at all of the teams that were trying to chase them, they were doing it right.
“It’s not right. What have we taken from Liverpool’s legacy, [Jurgen] Klopp and that team? What could they have experienced?
“Roy’s right, they cheated to get it done, and people have missed out on that. Players have missed out on unbelievable opportunities for themselves. I’m glad that we finally got there.” Wright added.
Manchester City is expected to appeal against the verdict issued by the independent commission following an investigation which was related to alleged financial breaches between 2009 and 2018.
