Former England international, Ian Wright, has called for an unprecedented punishment for Manchester City after the Premier League club was found guilty of financial breaches spanning nine seasons.
Wright made the demand while speaking as an ITV pundit following the independent commission’s verdict against the reigning Premier League champions.
The former Arsenal forward described the breaches as “cheating on an industrial scale” and said the severity of the findings warranted a punishment that had not been seen before.
“It’s cheating on an industrial scale. It’s quite surreal seeing it written down like that. You can’t mention City without mentioning what’s going on because they were so great. I feel like an unprecedented punishment is required here,” Wright said.
The commission found City guilty of serious financial breaches, with the club accused of using disguised funding schemes to inflate revenue and reduce costs by more than £900m.
Former Manchester United captain, Roy Keane, also said the verdict could have serious consequences for the Premier League’s reputation, despite agreeing that rule-breakers should be punished.
“It’s very damaging for the League. The brand of the Premier League is huge all over the world and it’s been fantastic but for them to be caught cheating then they, obviously, deserve that punishment. It’s bittersweet. It’s a good day because if you’re caught cheating in this game then you deserve to be punished but it’s not good for the league,” Keane said.
Keane also questioned what the verdict could mean for City’s current players, particularly those who have been part of the squad during the period covered by the allegations.
“They play Liverpool in a couple of weeks, what about the players that have been part of the problem over the last few years with the cheating? What happens going forward?” he asked.
Wright, meanwhile, predicted a prolonged legal battle as City prepares to challenge the commission’s findings.
“It’s a massive day for the Premier League, they’ve taken on a whole country. It’s going to get so litigious now, I think it’s going to go on for so long. It’s so sad,” he added.
Manchester City maintain their innocence and have until Friday to appeal the verdict, with the eventual sanctions still to be determined.
