Tebas: Manchester City must be severely punished if found guilty
Amman3 min read
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The head of the Spanish League, Javier Tebas, said that Manchester City must face the 'harshest possible punishment' if it is found to have violated financial rules.
Reports on Friday said an independent committee found City guilty of all 115 charges against it, except one, related to violating league rules.
However, no official announcement has been made yet, and there is still no indication of any potential punishment.
Abu Dhabi-owned City has always denied the charges strongly, and its chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, issued a strong statement on Saturday, affirming his belief that City's innocence will be proven.
Potential penalties may include a significant deduction of points, and possibly even expulsion from the English League, while it is understood that other clubs are obtaining legal advice regarding potential compensation.
Tebas said, in a lengthy post on social media on Sunday, that 'applying equal rules to everyone' is essential to protect the integrity and sustainability of the game.
The Spaniard, speaking at a summit on football performance and health in London on Tuesday, said he had been raising concerns about City since 2017.
He said that City, the dominant force in English football over the past decade, must now be severely punished.
He added 'that having violated the rules for more than 10 years, no matter how minor the violations, is extremely serious'.
He continued 'there must be a severe punishment for breaking the rules, not just to set an example, but because the rules were indeed broken'.
He added 'what happened is extremely important, and we hope it will be a turning point, not only in the English League, but also in European football, because +Manchester's influence+ has spread across the entire Europe'.
Tebas also called on the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reassess its decision to cancel the two-year European ban imposed by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) on City in 2020.
He said 'in my opinion, the decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport should be reviewed, because they canceled the penalty that +UEFA+ had imposed on them (City)'.
He added 'the penalties were also canceled in a very questionable manner. And now it has been proven that +UEFA+ was right about the penalties it had imposed on Manchester City'.
City has been radically transformed under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour, whose United Arab Emirates group acquired the club in 2008.
City has won eight league titles, a Champions League title, and numerous other titles over the past 15 years.