Key Takeaways
- Former England captain Gary Lineker urges Manchester City to admit guilt.
- City found guilty of financial rule breaches over nine seasons.
- Club appeal ruling, but Lineker believes they should accept punishment.
Former England captain Gary Lineker has called on Manchester City to accept punishment for their breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, stating that the club should ‘own it’ and ‘accept whatever punishment comes our way’.
Lineker, who previously played for Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Barcelona, made the comments during a speech at the Leaders Week sports industry conference at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City were found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the league’s financial rules over nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18, as well as three out of four charges concerning failures to cooperate with the investigation.
The league accused the club of using ‘sham’ commercial contracts as part of schemes to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than £900 million ($1.19 billion) over nearly a decade, during which time they won multiple trophies.
Lineker expressed his belief that the whole situation is damaging for the club and the English game, but suggested that admitting their guilt would help draw a line under the saga.
“Obviously it looks really bad for Manchester City, it really does. And bad for the game… I’d love to see Man City now just own it and just say, ‘OK, we got it wrong’,” Lineker told reporters.
The club has appealed the ruling and insists they are innocent, with the appeal set to take place in private.
Asked if City should be stripped of the three Premier League titles they won in the disputed period, Lineker said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes down that route. But again, ultimately, who suffers from that? The players and the fans.”
The outcome of the appeal remains uncertain, with no sanctions announced before the hearing and unclear whether they would take effect immediately.
Manchester City currently top the Premier League standings on 15 points from five games and are set to face Liverpool in their next match on Sunday.
‘Obviously it looks really bad for Manchester City, it really does. And bad for the game… I’d love to see Man City now just own it and just say, ‘OK, we got it wrong’.
Gary Lineker, Former England captain
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes down that route. But again, ultimately, who suffers from that? The players and the fans.’
Gary Lineker, Former England captain
