Manchester City cheating case must be sorted out 'as quickly as possible' says Sports Secretary Lisa Nandy with massive compensations claims expected from rival clubs
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By BRENDAN CARLIN
Published: | Updated:
Sports Secretary Lisa Nandy called today for financial cheating claims against Manchester City to be resolved 'as quickly as possible'.
She made clear that the Premier League and City should reach a speedy conclusion over the raft of charges against the club - not let the affair drag on for more years.
Warning that the controversy was 'really destabilizing' for fans of City and football in general, Ms Nandy said the Premier League 'needs to sort this out and sort this out quickly'.
But she acknowledged that City itself 'strongly contests the charges, and there is still some way to go with the process'.
Her intervention comes amid fears that despite the Premier League's damning verdict on charges originally made against City in 2023, the extraordinary row could still rumble on now for years amid expected appeals from City.
It is also anticipated that other clubs will now seek compensation against the Manchester club.
It emerged yesterday that Manchester City had now been found guilty of all but one of 115 charges of breaching financial rules it had been accused of by the Premier League.
Potential sanctions against the club could include a points deduction, expulsion from the Premier League or a huge fine, although it is expected that City - which has strongly denied the charges - will launch an appeal.
Manchester City's striker Erling Haaland. It emerged yesterday that City had now been found guilty of all but one of 115 charges of breaching financial rules it had been accused of by the Premier League
Lisa Nandy (pictured) made clear that the Premier League and City should reach a speedy conclusion over the raft of charges against the club - not let the affair drag on for more years.
But speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Christian Purslow, former Liverpool managing director and Aston Villa chief executive, said: 'I really hope that common sense prevails here, and that there is a comprehensive solution that tries to draw a line in the sand because a never-ending waterfall of legal claims and uncertainties for another four or five years would be absolutely appalling for the game.'
And also speaking to Today, the Sports Secretary acknowledged that the allegations against City dated back as far as 2009 and said that it was 'not in the interest of the game for it to drag on' now.
She said: 'I think that it's really destabilizing, obviously, particularly for Manchester City fans and for everyone at the club, but also for all football fans who need to know that the rules are fair, that they're consistently applied, and believe in the integrity of the game.'
But Ms Nandy made clear that the Government itself would not have any direct role in the huge dispute.
She said: 'Football does set its own rules.
'The Government treads lightly in that regard.
'Where we have intervened in recent years is to introduce a football regulator to protect the game as a whole, but we don't interfere in individual decisions.
'Our role is to make sure that this is resolved properly and as quickly as possible for the sake of the fans.
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