Summary
The Mark Schwarzer Podcast will feature weekly on Football360 via football360.com.au, our YouTube channel or via Spotify or Apple Podcasts. The premiere episode will drop on Thursday afternoon, with the most capped Socceroo dissecting the two Brazil friendlies in depth with Football360’s David Weiner.
Former Premier League goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has declared Manchester City’s guilty verdict as “as big a scandal” as the competition has ever seen.
Speaking on the debut episode of The Mark Schwarzer Podcast on Football360, which will be released on Thursday afternoon, the Socceroos icon, who has played more Premier League games than any Australian, and sits in the top 10 for appearances of any player for all time, declared that unless Manchester City’s appeal overturns the “vast majority” of the charges, the consequences are going to be “seismic”.
Schwarzer, who initially thought the longer that the review lingered that perhaps the allegations would not stick, added that the entire City Football Group network, including in Australia, should come under the microscope if the guilty verdict is not overturned.
“I don’t there hasn’t been a as big a scandal as this,” he said, adding that even though Manchester City are strenuously denying the claims, “it looks really bad and damaging”.
I want every single @ManCity fan to know I am here; more than ever. I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo and you, our unique supporters.
Let me be clear: we will get through this together.
I love you all… pic.twitter.com/jmMvwbykqv
— PepTeam (@PepTeam) September 30, 2026
“It’s seismic, isn’t it,” he added.
“The effect will be seismic.”
Given the likes of Everton and Nottingham Forest have been docked Premier League points in recent seasons, speculation is already mounting over what punishment City could cop for the conduct between 2009–10 to 2017–18.
Photo: Getty Images
City were found to have engaged in an $A1.7 billion scheme to either inflate revenues or reduce costs through a series of “sham” arrangements in order to avoid breaching league and UEFA financial regulations.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the case, and the decision, as “the most significant in Premier League history”, with the league’s investigation having started back in 2018.
More than 100 charges were laid against City in February 2023, with the commission hearing the case between September and December 2024. The same commission which has given its decision will now consider what sanctions should be imposed, while the club immediately confirmed their intention to appeal, saying the decision “contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe”.
Schwarzer added that if these charges are not overturned, the punishment will inevitably be “game changing”. Suggestions have veered from as drastic as expulsion, to a points deduction that would almost certainly lead to relegation, to crippling fines as well as the stripping of their Premier League titles.
“If the charges stick and the vast majority of charges stick, it has to be monumental,” he continued.
“The fines, the repercussions, the punishment has to be monumental for the integrity of the sport.
“The other big problem I see is – and we’re jumping ahead of ourselves, but if they are to be found guilty in all charges after this independent committee – where is the trust?
Manchester City chiefs have to land an appeal to see this overturned. Photo: Getty Images
“Can Manchester City under its current setup be ever trusted again? We’re talking about a nine year period of deceit if this is going to be the case…to be true.
“How do fans, certainly Manchester City fans, how do they then move forward with their team, with their club? How do they move forward with the ownership? Can they ever trust them? Or are they okay with it?”
The alleged conduct took place during an era where Schwarzer, who has played the eighth most games in the league’s history, was still playing.
Now, speculation is mounting that those titles City won in 2012, 2014 and 2018, should be stripped. How would those players be feeling right now?
Schwarzer said the players involved are innocent bystanders, collateral damage like the fans.
“I think to a large degree the players probably have their head buried in the sand a little bit. And it’s also not their domain, right? It’s not your role to know how much money the club’s spent and where the wages have gone and do they fulfil the financial requirement within the regulator. It’s not your role as a player. So I feel for the players because the players are innocent in this regard. It’s not the players’ fault.”
Stan Sport pundit Mark Schwarzer will have a weekly podcast on Football360 in 2026.
With City Football Group’s reputation in tatters, the consequences of this scandal will be far reaching – including all the way to Australia.
Australian Professional League (APL) chief executive Steve Rosich on Wednesday wouldn’t be drawn on the English Premier League giants, who were found guilty overnight of unprecedented financial breaches.
A-Leagues team Melbourne City has been owned by City Football Group since 2014, with the club’s vice-chairman Simon Pearce sitting on the board of directors for Manchester City.
Schwarzer added: “I think it opens it all sorts of avenues, if this verdict sticks, all the way through the whole organisation.
“To what extent…does this go? Is this just relevant with the Premier League with Manchester City, or are the same practices unfolding in different parts of the world under the same organisation?
“I think that would be a valid question to ask if these charges are to stick.”