Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has held nothing back as he had his say on Manchester City's allegedly being found guilty of 114 out of the 115 charges
Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino believes the Premier League went through a "period of deception" following Manchester City's guilty verdict. The outcome of the Premier League's investigation into City was leaked through the media last Friday, with the club found to have allegedly breached 114 financial rules.
City won three titles during the nine-year spell they were accused of breaking the rules, with Spurs enjoying success, but no trophies, during that period under Pochettino.
Earlier this month, he suggested Tottenham should have a Premier League title due to Chelsea's violations that they admitted to and unsurprisingly, when asked about City's guilty verdict, he had a very similar response.
In Spanish, Pochettino told the Guardian: “Where were the controls? That’s what gets my attention. Where were the controls? If I remember being at Southampton, then Tottenham – I remember building [the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium] and not having the economic possibility of a transfer for 18 months.
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"I think we were the only team in the history of the Premier League with 18 months without [making a transfer].
“If a team like us, Tottenham, was fighting for titles with those above us and every year in the top four, getting to the semi-finals of Champions League without being able to do a transfer for 18 months, all because we needed to get used to the [Premier League financial controls]?
"They were so strict with us but also so lenient with others. Because of that, that’s why I say: it’s all very strange.
"At the end of the day, we went through something where sporting fairness didn’t exist. So, how do you repair everything that was damaged because of that, if it’s true all of the 114 rules that were broken, we’ve lived through a period of deception.”
City deny any wrongdoing and will be appealing the decision, with that expected to be the next step in this process, but they may end up discovering their potential sanctions first.
The stripping of titles and Premier League expulsion have been mooted as potential punishments for City. Both of those appear unlikely, but a points deduction significant enough to relegate them is certainly a possibility.
Despite that, Pochettino has stated that no matter the punishment dished out, nothing changes for the teams impacted at the time.
He said: “Whatever punishment [they choose], it’s impossible to turn back time. It’s done a lot of damage, more than anything the guidelines. At the end of the day many clubs followed the rules and some didn’t.
"Maybe they thought that the punishment [wouldn’t come for a lot of years] – what are they going to do? An economic punishment? Docking points?
"It’s really hard and it is a huge sadness. At the end of the day we get into a situation where what got celebrated wasn’t that real, what seemed good maybe wasn’t so good, what didn’t look good maybe was good but couldn’t be good because of what happened."