London [UK], October 1: Former Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has offered his backing to the club after they were found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules, stating: "We will get through this together."
An independent commission on Tuesday concluded they "clearly intended to circumvent Premier League rules" over a nine-season period from 2009 to 2018 - including the start of Guardiola's reign.
The club now face the threat of severe sanctions, including a possible points deduction which could mean relegation, unless they are able to overturn the decision on appeal.
Guardiola, who left City at the end of last season after six league titles in a decade at the club, wrote on the Pep Team X account on Wednesday: "I want every single @ManCity fan to know I am here; more than ever. I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, (coach) Enzo (Maresca) and you, our unique supporters.
"Let me be clear: we will get through this together.
"I love you all." City chief executive Ferran Soriano told staff in a video message that the commission had gone along with the Premier League's "conspiracy theory."
The eight-times Premier League champions have already indicated their intention to appeal, and say the decision "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe."
The Times newspaper meanwhile has reported that other top-flight clubs have contacted the league urging a conclusion to the case before the end of the season.
The investigation has already lasted years.
City were found to have engaged in an almost £1 billion ($1.3 billion) scheme to either inflate revenues or reduce costs through a series of "sham" arrangements to avoid breaching league and UEFA financial regulations.
The chair of England's independent football regulator David Kogan said in a statement that the judgement "raises serious issues." Former City defender Micah Richards meanwhile says the verdict has left him heartbroken.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Richards remarked: "The reports were troubling. I saw the words which were used by the Premier League in sham contracts and I felt absolutely devastated.
"I've been at that club since I was 14 years old, I would die for that club. I achieved my dream at Manchester City, but then to hear these reports, and not only me as an ex-player, but the fans, what they have to go through, absolutely devastating.
"To have a headline of this nature for a club that I love so much, it's been difficult. If you listen to the reports, they are damning."
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said, if he was a City player, he would throw all their title medals in the bin.
Speaking on ITV, Keane said: "They knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they've still done it, and, if I was a player, I'd be 100% sticking those medals in the bin."
Former City chairman David Bernstein, who spent five years in the role before stepping down in 2003 , suggested radical action including a demotion.
He told BBC radio on Tuesday: "It is damning beyond belief. My immediate thoughts are, should the board continue? Should the people involved be suspended immediately?
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher feels sorry both for City's players and the players of other clubs who missed out on winning trophies.
"I feel for the players... they'll almost feel like a lot of their career is going to have an asterisk, or a lot of people will be calling it a sham," Carragher said on Sky Sports News.
Source: Qatar Tribune
