Roy Keane calls out Man City for ‘cheating’ live on ITV after harsh verdict on 115 charges, urging players to throw away their medals.
Roy Keane shared his strong opinion after the Premier League confirmed that Manchester City was guilty of breaking financial rules between 2009 and 2018.
Keane was part of ITV Sport’s team during England’s 2-0 win over Czechia in the Nations League on Tuesday (September 29), which happened just hours after the Premier League made the announcement.
An independent commission found that during those nine years, City used what were called “fake contracts” to make their income look bigger and their costs smaller.
Many former players have spoken out, with some saying City should lose the three Premier League titles they won in that time. Keane said that if he had played for City then, he’d be “throwing those medals in the bin.”
He called those wins pointless because of the “cheating” going on before England’s game.
“They knew it would upset a lot of people, but they did it anyway,” he said.
“If I was a player with those wins—I’d definitely be binning those medals.”
When host Mark Pougatch asked if he’d feel betrayed by the club, Keane replied: “Absolutely. It’s cheating.
“Some ex-players say they won on the pitch, but it’s cheating. There was cheating happening.
“It’s tough for the players and manager, but the owners were happy to cheat.
“It’s hard for current players to keep performing at a top level.”
Former Arsenal player Ian Wright agreed, calling the situation “terrible.”
“The City owners told players nothing was wrong. If you’re a player, you’d feel something’s off,” Wright said.
“This is something we’ve never seen before. Respect to the owners for what they’ve done.”
Possible punishments include losing points, being kicked out of the Premier League, big fines, transfer bans, and having titles taken away.
The Premier League said in their statement: “The punishment will be decided later in another private hearing. We will share the results when we can.”
City has until October 2 to appeal the decision.
The club, owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, denies any mistakes and says they have “strong evidence” to prove their case.
In a statement, City said: “We are surprised and disappointed by the Premier League’s ruling.
“We are innocent and have strong proof to support that. We will fight this through all legal and regulatory channels.
“The process is still ongoing, and we have followed it carefully, trusting it to be fair and unbiased.
“We can’t say more until everything is finished.”
For more, check out the latest updates on the case and possible penalties.