Former Liverpool ace Jamie Carragher has defended himself after it was claimed he was being "hypocritical" when it came to discussions surrounding Manchester City
Jamie Carragher, former footballer and tv pundit portrait before the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 Second Leg match between Liverpool FC and Galatasaray SK
Jamie Carragher has responded to footage drawing comparisons to the Manchester City case(Image: (Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images))
Jamie Carragher has defended himself after he was branded "hypocritical" over some resurfaced footage discussing the dark arts in soccer, amid comparisons with the Manchester City case.
It follows the former Liverpool star giving his thoughts on the current Premier League leaders, who are caught up in a legal battle with the top flight that has spanned years.
After an investigation process began in 2018 into Man City's accounting and finances, the club was charged in 2023 with allegations surrounding a failure to report accurate financial information, subsequent financial rule breaches, and non-compliance in the investigation process.
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Since then, an independent panel had to trawl through evidence on both sides, with a process that has taken years to complete, until a decision was finally reached during the most recent international break. A guilty verdict was given to the club on all but one of the 115 charges presented, sparking quite the reaction.
Man City denies any wrongdoing and has lodged an appeal against the decision, which should be heard by a separate panel in the coming weeks, with the hope that a fresh call is made before the end of the season.
In the wake of the guilty verdict, there have been plenty of discussions surrounding what it means for the club and the Premier League, and what could be next in terms of potential sanctions.
Carragher has been vocal on his thoughts surrounding Man City, believing that a harsh punishment is needed to prevent an offence on a similar scale elsewhere in the Premier League for years to come, while also claiming that the ownership has to move on for there to be a clean start.
Jamie Carragher has made his thoughts clear on Liverpool vs Manchester City
Jamie Carragher has made his thoughts clear on Liverpool vs Manchester City(Image: Photo by Johnny Fidelin/Icon Sport via Getty Images))
After those discussions, an old clip from a podcast showed the former Liverpool star saying: "For me, when I played, I'd rather cheat and win," which sparked plenty of discussion. Among those to slam the so-called "double standards" was Simon Jordan, who hit out at the ex-Reds star on TalkSPORT.
He claimed: "Well, he'll feel that perhaps he shouldn't have said that because that wasn't really necessary for Jamie to have said that. I just spoke to Jamie over the weekend because I see Piers [Morgan] was having a go at him on social media; I told him not to rise to it.
"But I think it doesn't alter the fact that what he is saying about Man City has resonance, just because most people in life are hypocrites. They are; they might just choose not to admit it, and he's been caught in a hypocritical moment where he's been a hypocrite. That doesn't alter the veracity or the efficacy of what he is saying."
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Carragher responded on social media, looking to clear up what he said by making a clear distinction between using the dark arts in a game and the case that Man City has been found guilty of.
He responded on X: "No it’s not hypocritical. I’m talking about my striker diving for a penalty, me stopping a ball going over the line with my hand!. I’m not talking about 900M in fake sponsorship over a number of years."
It has shown perhaps some of the challenges in drawing the line on where cheating starts and ends in soccer, with anything from a dive and a handball being able to change the outcome of a game.
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However, it also shows that arguing in good faith is key, and in this case, it seems to be a mismatch of discussions in an attempt to discredit a proper talk surrounding the Man City case.