Keane delivers brutal verdict on City’s success

Manchester City’s guilty verdict has prompted strong reactions across English football, and Roy Keane has now weighed in with one of the most uncompromising responses yet. The former Manchester United captain was discussing the case during ITV’s coverage of England’s Nations League victory over the Czech Republic when attention turned to the trophies City won during the period examined by the independent commission.

According to GiveMeSport’s report on Keane’s comments, the Irishman argued that players who benefited from City’s success should now question what their medals represent. His conclusion was characteristically direct: “If I was a player, I’d be 100% sticking those medals in the bin.”

Keane’s comments came after the Premier League published the findings of an independent commission investigating Manchester City’s finances. The Premier League’s official statement says City were found guilty of all charges relating to serious financial-rule breaches across the nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18, while three of four alleged breaches concerning cooperation and utmost good faith were also upheld.

Commission found more than £900 million was involved

The commission concluded that City used what it described as “sham” contracts and agreements with commercial partners in order to inflate revenue and reduce reported costs. According to the Premier League, the arrangements had the effect of improving the club’s reported financial position by more than £900 million during the relevant period.

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It also found that parts of sponsorship payments presented as commercial income had in reality been funded by Abu Dhabi United Group, which owned Manchester City. The commission concluded that the club consequently filed misstated accounts, concealed its true financial position from auditors and regulators and would have substantially breached both Premier League and UEFA spending limits if the agreements had been reported accurately.

City won three Premier League titles during the nine-season period covered by the most serious findings, alongside a number of domestic cup trophies. Keane believes that makes the case impossible to separate from what happened on the pitch, rejecting arguments that players should simply regard those sporting achievements as unaffected by events behind the scenes.

Keane says players have been let down

Keane acknowledged that the players and coaches were not responsible for constructing the financial arrangements examined by the commission. His criticism was instead aimed at the people running the club and the effect their actions could now have on those who represented City.

Asked whether players would feel betrayed by the situation, Keane replied: “100 per cent you would. It’s cheating.” He also argued that the controversy could make life difficult for the current squad and manager Enzo Maresca as they attempt to maintain their usual standards with the club facing continued uncertainty.

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The issue is particularly sensitive because City’s period of unprecedented domestic success transformed the club into the dominant force in English football. Keane’s position is that achievements on the field cannot simply be detached from financial advantages that the independent commission has now concluded were obtained through rule breaches.

Manchester City reject the findings

Manchester City continue to deny wrongdoing and have made clear that the case is far from finished. In the club’s official response to the decision, City said they were “disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s opinion and insisted that a comprehensive body of evidence supported their innocence.

The club also said it intends to pursue the appeal routes available to it, arguing that the decision contains material errors of law, principle and fact. City have until Friday, October 2 to exercise their right of appeal, while the question of punishment will be decided separately by the independent commission.

That means no decision has yet been made to remove trophies, relegate the club or impose any other specific sporting sanction. The Premier League rules give the commission broad powers, including fines, points deductions and other sporting penalties, but the sanction hearing remains a separate part of an ongoing process.

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For Keane, however, the published findings are already enough to change the way he views the achievements of the period. His message to the players who have those Premier League medals at home could hardly have been clearer.

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