Ian Wright has said that Manchester City’s conduct was “cheating on an industrial scale,” while Roy Keane has argued that the verdict is “very damaging for the league” after the Premier League’s statement on the guilty finding.
The Manchester City case took another major turn over the last few days, especially after David Ornstein’s bombshell report that the Premier League had found the club guilty on virtually all of the charges levied against them. Tuesday evening then brought a major update on the decision, revealing more about the charges City were found guilty of.
The Premier League released a detailed statement on the guilty charges and explained how Manchester City had “cheated” to gain an unfair financial advantage over the period between 2009 and 2018. The announcement contained extensive detail and has since generated reactions on an unprecedented scale.
Keane and Wright react to Premier League statement on Manchester City
Tony Pulis had already said he felt Manchester City’s actions amounted to cheating, and after the official Premier League statement, more voices were expected to weigh in. Roy Keane and Ian Wright, speaking for ITV during the Croatia vs England game on Tuesday evening, gave their views, with their comments later appearing in the Manchester Evening News.
Wright said, “It’s cheating on an industrial scale. It’s quite surreal seeing it written down like that,” and added that unprecedented punishment is required. He also said it was a massive day for the Premier League and that the league had taken on a whole country.
Wright added, “The amount of stick I’ve taken off that. Unprecedented punishment is required here. It’s a massive day for the Premier League. They’ve taken on a whole country, massive. Very messy. It’s a problem for them to be going to Liverpool [in their next fixture]. In their real time, Liverpool were the team chasing them down. Look at what Jurgen Klopp went through to break them – it probably broke him. It’s so sad. It’s probably going to get very litigious.”
Meanwhile, Keane said the situation is “very damaging for the league”, even if he believes City deserve punishment. He added that it is “bittersweet” because, although punishment is deserved, it is not good for the league’s image, and he questioned what happens next for players who have been part of those winning teams.
The overall reaction after the Premier League statement has focused on the finer details that were previously missing. The unprecedented scale of Manchester City’s wrongdoing could now lead to harsher punishment, and the club are expected to appeal the guilty verdict.