Manchester City Manager Enzo Maresca says the club’s titles are “absolutely not” tainted after they were found guilty of the majority of 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League.
Maresca reiterated his confidence in the club’s owners and his belief that they will win their appeal against the verdict during a news conference on Friday dominated by questions on the subject.
The Italian, notably relaxed in his responses, rejected the suggestion that City’s titles had been tainted by the decision, as he knows “exactly the lengths the club went to achieve them”.
An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.
The club appealed the verdict and said in a statement that the commission’s decision contained “obvious material errors, of law, principle and fact and that it was dangerous”.
Preparing to play his first match since the verdict was announced on Sunday against rivals Liverpool, Maresca said in an internal interview on Thursday that “the feeling is fantastic” among his players and that they are not affected by “the noise” surrounding the club.
He added on Friday: “The reason I joined this club is because I have complete 100% trust in the owner, in the CEO, in the sporting director, in the whole organization. So I have no doubts about that.
“I’ve spoken with the club, for sure. We all have confidence, and the right time to speak about it is probably when we win this appeal.”
He added: “For me, the players, we can only control the pitch, the football. So we focus on that. That’s what we can do and what we can control.”
Gn sports
