Keane on Man City scandal: ‘I’d be sticking those medals in the bin’

Ex-Sunderland manager Roy Keane.

Ex-Sunderland manager and Manchester United captain Roy Keane has blasted his Manchester rivals for “cheating”, after City were found guilty of well over 1oo charges of breaking Premier League financial rules. 

Only yesterday (Tuesday September 29), City were accused by the PL’s independent investigating commission of creating ‘sham’ contracts with their commercial partners – a process which, according to the commission, “misrepresented the true agreement between the parties”.

As a result, the Citizens were able to ‘invent’ revenue of around £830million between 2009 and 2018, which the PL has said actually came from their owners rather than external sponsors, as the club had claimed. 

City have continued to deny any wrongdoing, with the club saying it was both “disappointed and surprised” by the latest developments. 

It has until October 2 to appeal against the PL’s findings of guilt.

But Keane, speaking on ITV Sport, was quick to denounce the club’s successes during the period in question as “cheating” and said: “I’d be 100% sticking those medals in the bin,” if he’d been a City player. 

The Irishman later scolded the Etihad club’s owners, who he claimed “knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they’ve still done it”.

During the period in question from 2009-2018, Man City won eight different trophies, including three PL titles. 

Never one to hide his opinion, Keane has led the immediate charge of former United players who have already publicly criticised their local rivals’ actions. 

Wayne Rooney has said City should be “put in the lowest league they can go”, whilst Rio Ferdinand and David De Gea went one step further on social media and suggested the Red Devils should be awarded retrospective titles. 

In addition, Tony Pulis, the-then Stoke manager in 2011, saw his side defeated by City in the FA Cup final and said “I still feel cheated” in his column on the BBC Sport website on Sunday (September 27). 

The level of punishment awaiting Man City is uncertain, and could range from fines and points deductions all the way up to expulsion from the PL and the stripping away of titles.

Earlier this summer, Chelsea were found guilty of making secret payments and breaching rules. However, they were quick to admit responsibility and self-reported the incident, which drastically lowered their sanctions after an agreement with the Premier League.  

Similarly, both Everton and Nottingham Forest have recently been docked points for minor breaches of the PL’s Profit and Sustainability (PSR) rules.

However, this Manchester City situation is unprecedented in its scale, and any possible punishment may be far more severe.

On a local level, fans will also be wondering what happens to Sunderland, who lost the Capital One Cup final to City in 2014, or Newcastle, who only last season were knocked out of the Carabao Cup semi-finals by them.

Another question for fans may be ‘What does this mean for clubs like Sunderland, who have already played and lost against Man City this campaign? Do they now get three points added to their total, or is that match now null and void?’