The Ward on the Street – Manchester City’s flouting of financial rules is not funny – so their punishment should be even less funny and I have found it
In news that shocked nobody, Manchester City have been found guilty on virtually all charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial regulations.
The club still maintains its innocence but let’s face it, so did OJ Simpson.
What next? Relegation? Titles stripped? Record sanctions?
Or, more likely, knowing the corrupt world of football, a paltry fine?
Whatever it is I’m sure the City appeal will drag on and on. But there will be no doubt that Man City’s dominance in recent years has been tainted.
Every cup and title will have an asterisk the size of the moon next to it.
They’ll go down in the history books in the same way as Lance Armstrong’s drug-assisted seven Tour de France titles.
I’m reminded of the scene of Brian Clough, played by Michael Sheen, in the Damned United turning up to the Leeds training ground and telling the players: “As far as I’m concerned, the first thing you can do for me is chuck all your medals and all your caps and all your pots and all your pans into the biggest f****ing dustbin you can find. Because you’ve never won any of them fairly. You’ve done it all by cheating.”
City could well be responsible for the biggest footballing injustice since Father Ted used fake arms to try to win the All-Priests Over 75’s match.
Nobody likes a cheat and they should never prosper. It never worked for me.
I tried to cheat in a snail race recently. I thought I’d remove the shell to make it more aerodynamic. It didn’t work… It just made it more sluggish.
If and when City’s appeals are done with, it is vitally important that they are hit with a proper punishment.
It’s a scandal that they were allowed to flout the rules with impunity at all. But they must be made an example of to prevent such flagrant behaviour again.
Football has been corrupted to its core by money and greed to the detriment of the fans.
The game is still reeling from the president of the governing body FIFA tying to sell off the World Cup to the highest bidder.
How is the creepy Gianni Infantino getting on?
Oh, he’s still in the job? Course he is.
But unlike Gianni, City need to be hit hard to maintain the integrity of the sport.
My idea for a punishment?
Every City executive and the whole squad should be forced to watch every episode ever made of Mrs Brown’s Boys before every game.
That would certainly be a deterrent for every other club to play by the rules.