Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 28
Pochettino Says City’s 115 Breaches Exposed Premier League Deception
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 28

Pochettino Says City’s 115 Breaches Exposed Premier League Deception

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 28

Summary

  • Mauricio Pochettino said a ruling finding Manchester City guilty of almost all 115 alleged financial-rule breaches would show the Premier League lived through a "period of deception."
  • Speaking in St. Louis before the U.S. men’s friendly against Chile, he said no obvious sanction could fully repair the damage and questioned how league controls failed during 2009-2018.
  • Tottenham’s former manager contrasted City’s case with Spurs’ own restraint, saying his side went 18 months without a signing while funding a new stadium and complying with league rules.
  • Pochettino said clubs such as Everton and Nottingham Forest had already faced points or financial penalties, but argued City’s case raised a broader issue of sporting justice across the league.
  • The comments extend his recent claims that Tottenham should have been awarded the 2016-17 title after Chelsea’s rule breaches, underscoring how past punishments are reshaping debate over competitive fairness.

Insights

If titles, prize money, and careers were shaped by unequal rules, can the Premier League ever make the losers whole?
Did football’s regulators allow a decade of distortion to happen—and is any verdict now too late to restore trust?