lead-art-block.fullscreen-enterExpandFormer Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard finished second to Manchester City in the 2013-14 Premier League season
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard finished second to Manchester City in the 2013-14 Premier League season
Steven Gerrard believes Manchester City should be stripped of titles or have asterisks placed next to their achievements as punishment for breaching Premier League financial rules.
The former Liverpool captain has called for strong sanctions against City, including transfer bans and points deductions over multiple seasons, arguing that any action must set a precedent.
An independent commission found City broke Premier League regulations relating to the provision of accurate financial information between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.
“Make them suffer like they’ve made everyone else suffer” 😳
Gerrard didn’t hold back with his verdict on potential punishments for Man City.
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City, who won 3-0 at Anfield on Sunday, have maintained their innocence and appealed against the commission’s findings.
Gerrard famously never won the Premier League title and was part of the Liverpool team which finished runners-up to City in the 2013-14 campaign.
“I wouldn’t want individual players to give stuff back,” he said, speaking on the latest episode of the Overlap Daily, sponsored by Sky Bet.
“I don’t think that would be right. I wouldn’t accept anything. I’ve come to terms with where I am and what I achieved. But in terms of the club, they have to be stripped.
“There needs to be an example set historically, in my opinion, whether that’s an asterisk throughout all the years and their achievements.
“There needs to be, minimum, an asterisk. Because then it doesn’t matter whether the titles are stripped or not.
Liverpool fans hold up a large banner with the words ‘All of your stars are fading away’ before Sunday’s Premier League match at Anfield
Liverpool fans hold up a large banner with the words ‘All of your stars are fading away’ before Sunday’s Premier League match at Anfield (Peter Byrne/PA)
“As soon as that asterisk is there, everyone knows that happened because of what we all know happened.”
Liverpool finished two points behind City in 2014 – Gerrard’s penultimate season with the Merseyside club.
The 46-year-old rejected the suggestion City should be relegated to the Sky Bet Championship, arguing that such a move would unfairly disadvantage clubs competing for promotion from the English Football League.
Instead, he favours punishments imposed over several seasons.
“I think it needs to be a transfer ban,” he said. “I think it needs to be points over a period of time.
“And make them suffer like they’ve made everyone else suffer for the nine, 10 years that they’ve done it for.”
Steven Gerrard sees stars as part of the punishment for Man City’s rule breaches
Steven Gerrard sees stars as part of the punishment for Man City’s rule breaches