Roy Keane tells Manchester City players: 'Throw your medals in the bin'
Roy Keane said on Tuesday during ITV’s coverage of England’s Nations League match against Czechia that he would “throw the medals in the bin” if he were a Manchester City player, after the Premier League confirmed the club were guilty of all charges relating to their financial rules.
The Premier League found City had boosted their income by more than £900m through arrangements the league described as “sham contracts” with commercial partners, a period of activity that covered 2009 to 2018 and included eight trophies for the club, among them three Premier League titles. City continue to deny any wrongdoing.
Keane, the former Manchester United captain and ITV football pundit, said: “If I was a player, I’d be 100% sticking those medals in the bin. Of course you would, it’s cheating.” He added: “They won it on the pitch because cheating was going on,” and on the club: “They knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they’ve still done it.”
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards described the Premier League’s findings as devastating and heartbroken when speaking on The Rest is Football podcast. He said: “The reports were troubling. I saw the words which were used by the Premier League in sham contracts and I felt absolutely devastated.”
Richards, reflecting on his long ties to the club, said: “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.”
Recalling contact from a lifelong supporter he once lived with, Richards said: “My digs man, he rang me and he was literally in tears and asking me about information, which I don’t know, I haven’t got the answers to tell him. And that’s someone who’s supported the club for 60-odd years, and the uncertainty around it is just heartbreaking. 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. I feel saddened, I feel angry, I feel a lit bit confused because, on the other side, you have City’s side of the story.”
The Premier League’s statement said City were found to have engaged in an almost £1bn scheme to either inflate revenues or reduce costs through a series of sham arrangements intended to avoid breaching league and UEFA financial regulations.
City’s denial of wrongdoing remains on record following the Premier League’s confirmation on Tuesday.
