The Premier League returns to action this weekend following the international football break, and since a ball was last kicked domestically in the English top flight, a seismic shock was sent around the world by the guilty verdict faced by Manchester City. An independent commission found the team guilty of more than 100 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between 2009 and 2018. City have continued to protest their innocence and have lodged an appeal, but if the decision is upheld, then points deductions, fines, transfer embargoes and relegation are all possible punishments for the club.
City manager Enzo Maresca has said he believes the appeal will be won, and none of the trophies claimed since the period the charges began are tainted. Al Jazeera Sport has collated the reaction of some of the managers, who were all speaking publicly for the first time since the verdict, starting with the club City face next when they travel to Liverpool on Sunday. Their charges related to breaches of financial sustainability rules between 2019 and 2022.
Manchester City have helped raise the level of the Premier League by the football they have played, their manager and the players they have had.
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