Former Chelsea star Gus Poyet has commented on Manchester City's verdict after the Premier League found them guilty on all serious charges. He questioned the authorities, adding that the case did not reflect well on the league and The FA.
Speaking to Metro, Poyet said there was no control over the financial side, as the charges ran from 2009 to 2018. He added that the charges were terrible for football altogether, but admitted he was surprised by the verdict. He said:
"A big surprise for me is that they were found guilty of all the charges. I’ve never seen that in my life, but it’s bad for football, that for sure. It’s terrible for football. And especially, I think it’s bad for the Premier League and the FA in terms of control. Because for those of us who were on the other side, who tried to do everything correctly, it makes you feel like, what was going on? There was no control. From 2009 to now, nobody was controlling anything."
Poyet claimed that everyone tries to take advantage of situations, but Manchester City went overboard. He does not think the issue was just going over the line by a tiny margin and said:
"And we play football in a different way, in a different kind of situation. So, I didn’t like that. We know in football, everybody tries to take a little bit of a percentage or an advantage. But here, it didn’t look like an advantage; it looked like something was taken if everything they say is correct, no? People ask me, did you feel cheated?"
"And I say, well, no, because I didn’t know. It’s a feeling. You’re sitting there; you know that somebody’s cheating. We didn’t know. So now, to go back and put myself in that situation again is very difficult. We are in a world where we trust the people who are in charge and in control. Naturally, somebody has more sponsors, they have a better player, or whatever, they have better revenue."
Gus Poyet managed Sunderland from October 2013 to March 15, which falls within the period of Manchester City's charges.
Manchester City lodge appeal after Premier League's guilty verdict
Manchester City have confirmed that they have appealed against the Premier League's guilty verdict. The Cityzens insist that they are innocent and have done nothing to deserve any punishment.
The Etihad side maintain that they have 'irrefutable evidence', but are yet to make it public. They have also insisted that the UAE government, not the club's owners, paid the money from sponsors.