Mauricio Pochettino, the current United States men's national team coach and former manager of Tottenham Hotspur, has voiced his disappointment regarding the apparent lack of "sporting justice" in the wake of reports that Manchester City has been found guilty of nearly all of the 115 charges levied against the club for alleged financial rule breaches.
The Premier League has not officially confirmed the verdict, which reportedly stems from an independent commission's findings after a prolonged investigation into alleged violations between 2009 and 2018. During this period, Pochettino managed Tottenham, guiding the London club to challenge for titles despite operating with a significantly smaller budget compared to rivals.
"If it’s true that the 114 rules were broken, then we lived through a period of deception," Pochettino stated on Monday. "So, whatever the punishment ends up being… I don’t know. It’s impossible to go back. I think a lot of damage has been done."
Pochettino drew a parallel to an earlier incident involving Chelsea, for which he had previously called for the club to be stripped of their 2016-17 Premier League title due to 74 breaches of Football Association regulations. Chelsea ultimately received a 10 million pound ($13.4 million) fine and a suspended two-window transfer ban on appeal.
Chelsea secured the 2016-17 Premier League title by a seven-point margin over Tottenham, who finished third in the 2017-18 season when Manchester City claimed the championship. Pochettino, who managed Spurs from 2014 to 2019, highlighted that "ultimately a lot of clubs followed the rules and others didn’t."
He expressed uncertainty about the potential consequences for Manchester City, such as financial penalties or points deductions. "It’s very difficult, honestly," he said. "It’s sad. It’s deeply sad. Because, in the end, we’ve entered into a situation where what was celebrated wasn’t really what we thought it was. What seemed so good maybe wasn’t so good. And what didn’t seem good maybe actually was good, but it couldn’t be seen as good because the other ‘good’ was achieved by breaking the rules. So, ultimately, we’ve lived through a period where sporting justice didn’t exist."
MBA Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Manchester City's chairman, has consistently maintained the club's innocence and reiterated this stance on Saturday, following reports of the verdict. The club has always denied any wrongdoing.