IAN WRIGHT has launched a stunning rant on Man City after their bombshell guilty verdicts and claimed their owners ran the club as a “vanity project”.
City were over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
Findings from an independent commission also found City had used “sham” commercial deals to inflate their revenues by more than £900million.
The Etihad outfit have always denied any wrongdoing and have against the verdict.
The outcome of the appeal – and any resulting sanctions – is likely to arrive at the start of next year, with some suggesting City could be given a huge points deduction.
And legend didn’t hold back while giving his thoughts on the saga, saying he had “nothing but distaste for the owners” – who “just wanted to win for PR”.
He told the Stick to Football podcast: “It’s on an industrial scale, the cheating. I can’t stop thinking about… City and where they’ve come from, 100 years and whatever it is and for them to come in and do it knowingly that they are gonna do this.
“They didn’t have the patience. They had the money to be patient, but they’ve come in and they’ve knowingly done this to cook the books to get themselves in a position where they can challenge .
“So then they’re starting to beat Man United 6-1 and stuff like that. They wanted it quick and they’ve gone about it the wrong way.
“And the more I think about it the sadder I feel because the fans have every right to feel unhappy with what’s going on because they’re being told that nothing’s going on.
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Timeline: What happens next?
- October 2 – Deadline to submit appeal
- December 25 – Deadline for appeal to conclude (12 weeks after appeal is lodged)
- December 14-18 – Possible date for maximum five-day appeal hearing
- January 17 – Deadline for commission to produce final verdict
What are Man City charged with?
THE Premier League claim Man City hid £900m in 'sham' deals across a nine-year period.
They were found guilty on 114 of the initial 115 charges – with the number now up to 130 charges – which fit into six categories…
- Failing to give accurate financial information over sponsorship revenue, related parties and operating costs between 2009-10 and 2017/18. Total charges: 50
- Failing to provide full details of managerial remuneration between 2009/10 and 2012/13. Total charges 8
- Failing to provide full details of player remuneration between 2010/11 and 2015/16. Total charges 12
- Failing to comply with Uefa Licencing and Financial Fair Play regulations between 2013/14 and 2017/18. Total charges 5
- Breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability rules between 2015/16 and 2017/18. Total charges 25
- Failing to co-operate with the Premier League investigation between 2018/19 and 2022/23. Total charges 30
- Total charges: 130
“The more you think of it… I’m just very sad the whole situation’s happened.
“I’ve got nothing but distaste for the owners and what they’ve done because they’re very, very, very wealthy people that could have done this who could have done this properly and they didn’t because they’re just a vanity project.
“They genuinely do not care about anything. English football, what fans think. “They don’t care about anything. They just wanted to win for PR. This is all for PR. This is bulls***!
Fears are mounting over City’s perilous position, with claims that the club could be stripped of titles or even expelled from the league.
City stars and walk away for nothing off the back of the incredible revelations.
and his team-mates are not believed to have relegation clauses in their contracts.
But they could take legal action against the Etihad club and quit to join a rival for nothing.
The saga will drag on for a while longer, though a fast-track process now means – which was done on Friday.
Strictly following the time-table would mean the hearing concluding, at the latest, on Christmas Day, and beginning on December 21.
As that would not happen for obvious reasons, the implication is the appeal being heard from December 14.
The commission would then have 30 days to produce its final verdict.
