Izuchukwu OkosiManchester City manager Pep Guardiola has backed the club to rebound from the accusations of financial improprieties levelled against it by the Premier League.
The Spaniard was bullish in his Friday’s media conference ahead of his team’s Premier League game against Aston Villa on Sunday and stated that he believes City will be proved innocent of the crimes.
The Premier League had announced that the League’s defending champions had breached over 100 financial rules which could see them stripped of their previous titles in the last 10 years, barred from signing players in the transfer next transfer windows, suffer points deductions or even relegated from the topflight.
It is disclosed that City falsified their accounts among other sundry infringements with the Premier League now handing the investigations to an independent body.
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Guardiola in his first news conference since the club were charged by the Premier League said a verdict has been passed on the club.
“We are lucky we live in a marvellous country where everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
“We didn’t have this opportunity, we are already sentenced.
“What is going to happen I don’t know. Personally I am happy we are here as like Uefa we have the chance to defend (ourselves).
“We have a good lawyer, not that Uefa had bad lawyers. And I think the Premier League, supported by 19 teams, are going to take good lawyers too to defend their position.
“I would have loved to wait and see to find out what happens but just in case we are not innocent we will accept what the judge and the Premier League decides.
“But if the same situation with Uefa happens and we are innocent, what happens to restore or pay back our damage?”
Speaking further on the charges against City backed by the Etihad Group, Guardiola said:
“My first thought is that we have already been condemned, what happened is this same that happened with Uefa.
“We had already accusations and now we are charged. The club proved they were innocent (from Uefa charges).
“You know what side I am.”
“The club they speak with all of us, but I didn’t speak [about it to the players]. We did training as normal to try to beat Aston Villa. All the big moments we have had still belong to us – for our fans, our people. No-one can pull that away, it is impossible.
“After the courts can dictate what happened. At the end it is nice. I am fully convinced we will be innocent.
“But what will happen next? Will it stop now? It is not because of Uefa. Since Abu Dhabi took over the club – since day one it was like that.”
City are five points adrift of leader, Arsenal who play Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
City and Arsenal will then face off on Wednesday, February 15, before another clash in April which was rescheduled after the demise of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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