Mauricio Pochettino has said the Premier League would have “lived through a period of deception” if Manchester City are found to have breached financial rules.
An independent tribunal is understood to have reached decisions in the case involving 115 charges brought by the league against the club. The process is now moving towards an appeal, meaning the outcome remains subject to further proceedings.
Pochettino, who managed Tottenham and Chelsea after previously taking charge of Southampton, said any breaches would have distorted the history of the competition and damaged sporting fairness.
“At the end of the day, we went through something where sporting fairness didn’t exist, so how do you repair everything that was damaged because of that?” he told the Guardian through an interpreter.
“If it’s true…we’ve lived through a period of deception.”
The former Spurs and Chelsea manager said the consequences could not fully undo the impact on clubs who had followed the rules.
“Whatever punishment, it’s impossible to turn back time,” he added. “It’s done a lot of damage. At the end of the day, many clubs followed the rules and some didn’t.”
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has reiterated his belief that the club will prove its innocence. Chief executive Ferran Soriano has also told fellow club chiefs that the legal dispute with the Premier League could take years to conclude.
Former Stoke manager Tony Pulis says he feels cheated
Tony Pulis, who was managing Stoke City when Manchester City beat them in the 2011 FA Cup final, said the reports surrounding the case had left him with a “very sour taste”.
“When do we get our FA Cup?” Pulis wrote. “That is what all Stoke City fans have been asking me since the news broke on Friday that Manchester City had been found guilty of breaking the majority of the 115 financial rules they have been accused of breaching.”
He acknowledged that the process was not over because Manchester City are expected to appeal, but said he still felt deprived of the chance to celebrate Stoke’s victory.
“I don’t seriously believe any other trophies and titles will be handed back over either. A points deduction and a massive fine feels far more likely,” Pulis said.
“But I still feel cheated. Whatever happens next, we won’t ever get that day back and the chance to celebrate around Stoke-on-Trent with the cup and medals we so honestly fought for.”
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand backed Pulis, posting: “Let’s start petition to get Tony Pulis is [sic] FA Cup Winners Medal!”
