Roy Keane condemns Manchester City in financial scandal fallout
Roy Keane has delivered a blistering verdict on Manchester City’s financial scandal, declaring he would throw his medals away if he had played for the club during the period covered by the Premier League ruling, reports BritPanorama.
The former Manchester United captain accused City of cheating after they were found guilty of breaching more than 100 financial regulations, plunging the club into a crisis with potentially seismic consequences.
City deny wrongdoing and can appeal the verdict until Friday, October 2. However, Keane offered a ruthless assessment of what the findings mean for the players who helped deliver their silverware.
Speaking on ITV, he said: “If I was a player, I’d be 100 per cent sticking those medals in the bin. Of course you would, it’s cheating.” His criticism extended beyond the trophies themselves, with the outspoken pundit arguing that City’s success on the field could not be separated from the financial breaches, stating, “They won it on the pitch because cheating was going on.”
The explosive comments followed Tuesday’s confirmation that City had inflated their commercial revenue by £830 million between 2009 and 2018. That era brought three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and three League Cups, achievements now being scrutinised against the backdrop of the damning financial findings.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters noted that the club had “systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade.” For City, attention now shifts to an appeal and potential punishment. A points deduction and relegation are among the possibilities, although no sanctions have yet been confirmed.
A transfer ban has also been raised as a possibility, while calls for the club’s owners to sell continue. City’s response, however, remains defiant. The club stated they were “surprised” by the ruling and continue to reject the allegations against them.
Chief executive Ferran Soriano challenged the basis of the case, describing the outcome as the result of a “Premier League conspiracy theory.” He insisted the dispute centred on an accusation about the source of sponsorship money, rather than accepting the league’s interpretation of City’s finances.
This ongoing saga underscores the complexities of governance in modern football, where financial scrutiny has become as critical as on-field performance. While Manchester City prepares for their next fixture against Liverpool on October 11, the ramifications of this ruling promise to ripple through the sport for quite some time.
